Experimental Investigation of Mechanical Properties of GFRP–Hemp Fibre Hybrid Epoxy Composites

Abstract

Nowadays, hybrid composites are gaining attention due to improved properties and partial replacement of synthetic materials. In this study, hybrid epoxy composites were developed by combining glass fibre with hemp fibre using the hand lay-up method. In the present work, the main aim is to evaluate the mechanical behaviour of the hybrid composite in comparison with conventional GFRP. The specimens were tested for tensile, compressive, and impact properties. Under tensile loading, the hybrid composite reached 162 MPa, while the GFRP sample was about 133 MPa. This is roughly a 21.8% increase. The same behaviour was observed across the samples. In compression, the hybrid composite showed a value of 1.196 MPa compared to 0.130 MPa for GFRP. The difference is quite large. At the same time, the overall values are still low, which may be related to fabrication issues such as void formation or weak fibre–matrix bonding. For impact testing, the hybrid composite recorded an average of 6.67 J, whereas the baseline value was close to 6 J. The variation is small, indicating only a limited improvement in impact behaviour. From the overall results, it is observed that the hybrid composite performs better in tensile loading. The improvement in compressive and impact properties is not very high. The study shows that hemp fibre can be used as a secondary reinforcement. The final performance mainly depends on the fabrication quality.

Cite as:

R Sunil Kumar, & G Suresh. (2026). Experimental Investigation of Mechanical Properties of GFRP–Hemp Fibre Hybrid Epoxy Composites. Research and Reviews: Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2(1), 36–45. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19662574