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In-plane Permeability and Mechanical Properties

of R-Glass/Aramid Hybrid Composites
Amanda Albertin Xavier da Silva , Jeferson Avila Souza , Andrea Manes , and Sandro Campos Amico

(Submitted February 11, 2020; in revised form June 25, 2020)

The use of composite structures is ever-increasing due to the need of lightweight materials, and the com-
bination of different reinforcements in a single matrix expands even further the range of processing and
final characteristics compared to the use of a single-fiber type. This work investigates the effect of
hybridization on in-plane permeability and mechanical properties of R-glass/aramid/epoxy composites
manufactured by vacuum infusion. Five different fiber layups were studied, pure aramid, pure R-glass and
three hybrids. The inclusion of R-glass fabrics increased permeability compared to aramid, and a syner-
gistic effect was identified, i.e., one of the hybrids presented higher values than both single-fiber stacks.
Inclusion of R-glass fabrics leads to greater strength and stiffness in tensile and flexural tests. The hybrids
reached an increase of up to 50% in tensile modulus, and also higher compressive, flexural and short-beam
strengths. In all, the results have shown that hybridization or aramid composites with R-glass may lead to
enhanced processability by vacuum infusion and allow a range of improved mechanical properties, being an
alternative in expanding the range of applications for rigid aramid composites.

Glass fiber is the most widely used reinforcement for

Keywords hybrid composites, mechanical properties,
permeability, vacuum infusion composites. Among the available types of glass fibers (Ref 9),
R-glass has higher strength and stiffness than the commonly
used E-glass, but also higher cost (Ref 10). Aramid is an
important organic fiber, with an aromatic polyamide structure
that yields several properties of interest such as low density,
good toughness and impact resistance (Ref 9). Different types
1. Introduction of aramid fibers are also available and Kevlar29, in particular,
has ballistic applications in helmets, plates and vehicle armor
High-performance fiber-reinforced composites have been (Ref 11).
widely used in many fields (Ref 1, 2). These composites are Sometimes, two or more types of fibers are used in the same
sometimes produced from pre-impregnated reinforcements in composite, yielding the so-called hybrid composite (Ref 12-
expensive processes (Ref 3), but less-costly manufacturing 15), so that a more suitable set of properties are obtained (Ref
methods are available, such as those of the liquid molding 16, 17). For instance, a higher-modulus fiber may provide
family, including vacuum infusion (VI), sometimes referred to stiffness and load-bearing characteristics, while a lower-mod-
as VARTM (vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding) (Ref 4). ulus tougher fiber makes the composite more damage tolerant
Vacuum infusion uses lightweight and low-cost molds and (Ref 16).
allows the manufacturing of large, complex and integrated Some researchers have studied the general mechanical
parts, with good surface finish and hardly any volatile emission behavior of E-glass/Kevlar49 composites (Ref 18, 19), or the
(Ref 4). Moreover, it allows the use of lower-cost raw materials performance of S-glass/aramid under low speed impacts (Ref
(dry reinforcements) that can be stored at room temperature for 17, 20). Hybrid S-glass/Kevlar49 showed better specific
long periods of time compared to prepregs (Ref 5). In VI, flexural and impact strength compared to a pure Kevlar49
permeability of the reinforcement is a critical parameter (Ref 6), composite (Ref 21). Muhi et al. (Ref 22) mixed E-glass with
and it reaches low values for high fiber content (Ref 7). Low Kevlar 29 and concluded that hybridization increased the
permeability can bring unwanted effects related to prolonged performance under dynamic penetration. And, in Potluri et al.
infusion times, especially due to the low injection pressure, and (Ref 23), S-glass/Kevlar49 hybrids were investigated and the
high void content in the composites (Ref 8), but it may be greatest influence of the stacking sequence was found on
overcome by adding a more permeable layer to the stack, e.g., a flexural modulus, whereas not much difference was found on
non-integrated flow-medium or a different type of fiber or tensile elastic modulus (longitudinal and transverse), PoissonÕs
fabric architecture. coefficient, shear modulus and coefficient of thermal expan-
sion.
Srivathsan et al. (Ref 18) studied Kevlar49/E-glass hybrid
Amanda Albertin Xavier da Silva and Sandro Campos Amico, compression molded laminates and found an effect of the
Materials Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto stacking sequence on tensile modulus, but not on tensile
Alegre, RS, Brazil; Jeferson Avila Souza, School of Engineering, strength. The hybrid with the highest flexural strength, flexural
Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil; and modulus and interlaminar shear strength was the one with
Andrea Manes, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico
di Milano, Milan, Italy. Contact e-mails: [Link]@[Link] and
Kevlar at the bottom layers, which was justified by the higher
jasouza@[Link]. stiffness and strength of the Kevlar fibers. In Isa et al. (Ref 19),

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

 h  i h    i h i
a hybrid laminate with four Kevlar and five E-glass layers 0Kf , 0Kf =0Gf = 0K
f , 0 K
f =0 G K
f =0f =0 G K
f =0f ,
5 2 2
showed the highest tensile strength and modulus, and the h   i h  i
greatest flexural strength, with values close to the composite 0Kf = 0Gf =0Kf , and 0G f , respectively. The five stacking
with Kevlar only. 3 5

Employing R-glass fibers instead of the less-costly E-glass sequences used were selected in a way to maintain symmetry and
can also be interesting due to the higher strength of the former, the overall number of layers, but with increasing number of R-
even greater than Kevlar29 fibers. And a combination of glass layers. In Pandya et al. (Ref 24), the higher stiffness and
intermediate and high modulus fibers (Kevlar29 and R-glass, strength fibers (in this case, R-glass) were kept as the inner
respectively) may result in well-balanced components for (central) layers. In the present work, this was also chosen to allow
impact loading. Therefore, main goal of this work is to investigation of the role of R-glass layers as flow promoters.
investigate the effect of hybridizing Kevlar29 laminates with
R-glass fabrics focusing on the combined analysis of homo- 2.2 Apparent Permeability Evaluation
geneity of the plates, apparent permeability (and infusion time)
and mechanical properties, evaluating the suitability of the Infiltration was monitored during the actual molding of the
vacuum infusion process used and possible synergistic effects. laminates by vacuum infusion. One measurement of apparent
in-plane permeability for each stacking was carried out to
evaluate the influence of hybridization. In this experiment,
constant pressure ( 100 kPa) unidirectional (rectilinear) flow
2. Materials and Methods was used. It consisted of forcing the resin from one side-gate of
a rectangular reinforcement toward the opposite side-gate
2.1 Materials and Manufacturing (vent). Flow front position versus time was tracked by drawing
scaled marks on the vacuum bag at particular times, similar to
Plain-weave Kevlar29 aramid fabric (440 g/m2, thickness: Li et al. (Ref 8).
0.62 mm, 333 tex, 7 yarns per cm) from Dupont ([Link] As shown in Fig. 2, resin advance is mostly rectilinear and
[Link]/) and plain-weave R-glass fabric (814 g/m2, thick- the plotting of the square of the flow front position (xff) as a
ness: 0.66 mm, 1856 tex, 2,5 yarns per cm) from Owens function of time (t) resulted in the curves shown in Fig. 3a. In
Corning ([Link] were used as rein- all experiments, only the linear part of the curves was
forcements. Epoxy resin AR260 and AH260 hardener considered for the calculation of apparent permeability. The
(100:26 g ratio) were supplied by Barracuda. Its gel time was apparent in-plane permeability values were determined based
evaluated through ASTM D2471, being ca. 120 min, and its on DarcyÕs Law, which states that the flow velocity is
mean viscosity, 250 cP (at 30 ± 2 C), was evaluated with a proportional to the pressure gradient (Ref 25-27). An algebraic
Brookfield viscometer, S62 spindle. solution, based on DarcyÕs Law, is well-known for this problem
The laminates were manufactured by vacuum infusion. Prior and given by Rudd et al. (Ref 28) as:
to processing, the aramid fabrics were dried for 2 h at 100 C.
The aramid and/or R-glass fabrics (420 9 310 mm2) were x2ff ¼ ð2P0 =eljÞt ðEq 1Þ
stacked in a layup on the one-sided mold, a layer of peel ply
was added, and a flow mesh was placed covering a small region where xff is the flow front position (m), P0 the injection pressure
of the reinforcement to aid in resin lateral distribution. The inlet (100 kPa), e the preform porosity (e = 1 – VF), l the resin
and outlet gates (spiral tubes) were positioned in the mold, viscosity (250 cP); j the apparent permeability (m2) and t time (s).
which was sealed using tacky tape on its periphery and the The resin temperature during the experiments was  30 C.
vacuum bag. The cavity was then evacuated, removing air and Based on previously evaluated viscosity versus time curves,
compacting the reinforcement. viscosity was considered constant (250 cP) throughout the
Resin entered the sealed cavity through the inlet due to the infiltration period, including the 15 min needed for mixing and
imposed vacuum ( 100 kPa = 1 bar), infiltrating the stack of degassing. The thickness variation within each cured laminate
layers. After infiltration, it was allowed to cure for 24 h under was small and the reinforcement height used in the calculations
vacuum; then, the composite was extracted and subjected to of apparent permeability was the thickness of each final
post-curing (16 h at 65 C). All laminates were later analyzed laminate (Table 1).
using C-scan ultrasonic inspection (NDT Systems equipment,
Raptor model), with 2.25 MHz (0.5 inch) transducer and water 2.3 Analysis and Characterization
as coupling medium. Contact angle was measured for both R-glass and
Five stacks (laminates) were manufactured, three of them Kevlar29 fibers with the epoxy resin as proposed by Wagner
hybrids. Figure 1 illustrates the composites and the adopted et al. (Ref 29), which is based on the shape of a liquid droplet
nomenclature, K5, K2GK2, KGKGK, KG3K and G5 for on a cylindrical monofilament. A polarized light optical

Fig. 1 Studied laminates and adopted nomenclature: (K: aramid fabric; G: R-glass fabric)

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

Fig. 2 Resin advance at 18-19 min for the five infiltration experiments

a ¼ ðn cos h  1Þ=ðn  cos hÞ ðEq 3Þ

(a)
where F and E are LegendreÕs standard incomplete elliptic
integrals of the first and second type, respectively, and the
arguments / and k are calculated from Eq 4 and 5.
  
1 1 1=2
sen / ¼ 1  ðEq 4Þ
k2 n2

a2
k2 ¼ 1  : ðEq 5Þ
n2
Density of the composites was evaluated according to
ASTM D792. Their constituentÕs content (overall fiber (VF),
aramid (VF_K), glass (VF_G), matrix (VM) and void (Vv) volume
fraction) were determined by acidic matrix digestion (with
(b) nitric acid), according to ASTM D3171, procedure A (bath
temperature: 65 ± 3 C, digestion time:  6 h). For the
hybrids, aramid and glass fibers were manually separated after
resin digestion, dried and separately weighed to determine each
volumetric fraction. The same microscope and image analyzer
were used to obtain cross section images of the laminates.
Tensile tests were performed according to ASTM D3039
using five specimens (250 mm 9 25 mm) for each laminate,
which were tested until rupture at a crosshead speed of 2 mm/
min. Longitudinal and transverse strains were obtained with a
video extensometer. Flexural tests were performed according to
ASTM D7264, using five specimens (dimensions: 127 mm 9
12.7 mm) for each laminate, at a speed of 1.0 mm/min (up to
5% strain) and span:thickness ratio of 16:1. Compression tests,
according to ASTM D6641, were carried using eight specimens
(dimensions: 140 mm 9 12.7 mm) for each laminate, at a
Fig. 3 Permeability evaluation: (a) squared flow front position vs. crosshead speed of 1.3 mm/min. Short-beam tests were carried
injection time; (b) calculated apparent permeability values
out according to ASTM D2344 at 1 mm/min, using span-
thickness ratio of 4:1 and with 12 specimens (18 mm 9 6 mm)
microscope coupled with Carl Zeiss axio Lab. A1 image for each laminate. The samples were obtained from different
analyzer was used to collect micrographs of around 10 epoxy areas of the laminate in a way to also assess processing quality.
droplets formed along the length of each fiber, which were later All mechanical tests were performed in an Instron universal
analyzed with Image J software. The drop profile is described test machine model 3382. The obtained properties were
by three linear parameters, L (length), h (height) and rf (fiber submitted to normality and homogeneity of variances tests
radius). An analytical expression (Eq 2) was used to evaluate prior to applying single variance analyses (ANOVA), with
the reduced drop length (l = L/rf) as a function of the reduced rejection of the null hypothesis. The FisherÕs LSD method with
maximum drop thickness (n = h/rf) and the macroscopic 5% significance was used to compare averages. The software
contact angle h (Ref 29): The Laminator (Ref 30) was used to estimate the elastic
l ¼ 2½aF ðw; k Þ þ nEðw; k Þ ðEq 2Þ properties of the hybrid laminates using the properties of the
pure laminates of aramid and R-glass as input and the laminated
for plate theory (LPT) (Ref 31).

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

3. Results and Discussion yielding lower capillary effect and greater macro-permeability
(Ref 8). Thus, larger fiber diameter and higher wettability partly
3.1 Apparent Permeability explain why R-glass exhibited greater apparent permeability
than aramid.
Table 1 shows the basic characteristics of the composites. Fabrics with lower crimp angles allow easier resin flow
The hybrid composites presented greater overall fiber volume along the yarns, consequently greater in-plane permeability
content than the pure composites, K5 and G5. G5 presented the (Ref 32). The aramid plain-weave fabric has thinner fiber yarns
lowest fiber and void content, while the hybrids showed and higher crimp compared to R-glass (see highlighted lines in
intermediate values. The laminate with alternating layers, Fig. 4), with more longitudinal yarns. In the hybrid composites
KGKGK, showed the highest content of voids (12%) perhaps (Fig. 4b, c and d), the same pattern of the pure reinforcements
due to the more heterogeneous interlayer regions (from the is seen.
different fiber architectures). Composite density increased for Based on micrographs of the cross section of the compos-
higher glass fiber content, as expected. It is also important to ites, it is possible to visualize larger inter-bundle and resin-rich
notice the high quality of the vacuum-infused glass composites areas in the hybrids (Fig. 5b, c and d) due to the mismatch of
(just 1.46% voids) compared to the aramid composite. the fabric architecture (indicated by triangles), compared to the
Figure 2 shows the impregnation process for the five fiber pure composites (Fig. 5a and e). These regions, combined with
stacks at approximately the same time (18-19 min). It is the higher permeability of R-glass fabrics, shortened the total
possible to observe that the flow front of the hybrid composites infusion time. This helps explaining the higher apparent
is more advanced than the pure glass and pure aramid. The permeability for the hybrid reinforcements (KGKGK and
composites have slightly different overall fiber volume frac- KG3K) compared to the two pure reinforcements. Indeed,
tions which interferes in the final permeability value, anyway when only R-glass fiber fabrics were used, good compaction
the greater impregnation rate in the hybrid stacks is clear. was obtained and these resin-rich regions were not easily
Figure 3a shows curves of the squared flow front position observed (Fig. 5e).
(x2ff) as a function of injection time for all experiments. Pure It is also possible to observe a greater content of voids,
glass allowed a much faster impregnation than pure aramid especially near the aramid fabric (red arrows in Fig. 5c), which
(total infiltration time: 38 and 54 min, respectively). Figure 3b was minimized by using more glass layers (Table 1). For the
presents the calculated apparent permeability values where it is KGKGK laminate (Fig. 5c), many voids are seen at the R-
possible to verify an increase in permeability when glass fiber glass/aramid interface, confirming the greater void content
layers are added to the aramid. In fact, comparing the K2GK2 shown in Table 1.
hybrid (4.72 9 1011 m2) with the pure K5 reinforcement C-scan maps were used to further address processing
(2.95 9 1011 m2), it can be seen that the inclusion of a single quality, i.e., homogeneity. Attenuation of the ultrasonic waves
R-glass layer significantly increased permeability (60% higher). occurs through the loss of signal though reflection and
The K5 sample showed lower permeability since the fabric dispersion at the internal interfaces and absorption by the
has a very closed weave with yarns narrower than the R-glass material. Greater resin content minimizes loss of signal
fabric, making the resin impregnation process more difficult. R- amplitude and higher fiber content yields greater signal
glass fabrics worked as flow-promoting layers when interca- reflection and dispersion. The signal is also affected by the
lating aramid fabrics. Interestingly, when only R-glass fabrics difference in density of the constituents, i.e., the resin has lower
were used (G5 sample), resin flow in the preform slowed down, density, attenuating to a lesser extent the ultrasonic wave. Thus,
increasing the impregnation time, which is a crucial factor for higher values of amplitude scale (toward yellow and green
the VI process. Therefore, apparent permeability of the hybrid tones) suggest higher resin content, and smaller values (toward
reinforcements, KGKGK and KG3K, was higher than the pure darker tones) indicate greater content of fibers and voids (Ref
reinforcements, K5 and G5, exhibiting a positive hybrid effect. 33).
Resin flow is affected by many resin, fiber and process The range of amplitude found in the pure composites cannot
parameters, including fiber wettability (Ref 7), which was be directly compared with those for the hybrids since attenu-
assessed based on contact angle measurements. The contact ation of the ultrasonic waves is also related to the materials
angle for the R-glass fiber (12.8 ± 1.8) was slightly lower under analysis, especially their density, and R-glass fibers have
than that for aramid (16.4 ± 3.7), what may have some higher density (2.55 g/cm3) than aramid fibers (1.45 g/cm3) and
influence on infiltration. Another factor that affects permeabil- the resin (1.18 g/cm3), causing greater wave attenuation. Thus,
ity is fiber diameter. The diameter of R-glass fibers is greater the C-scan maps shown in Fig. 6 should be preferably used to
than aramid, 28.50 ± 5.39 and 14.69 ± 1.76 lm, respectively, assess resin distribution and homogeneity in each laminate.

Table 1 Thickness, density and volume fractions of the studied composites

Volume fraction, %
3
Laminate t, mm q, g/cm Overall VF VF_G VF_K VM VV

K5 2.82 ± 0.05 1.20 ± 0.00 58.35 ± 1.15 … 58.35 ± 1.15 29.99 ± 1.42 11.66 ± 0.01
K2GK2 2.86 ± 0.05 1.37 ± 0.00 60.09 ± 0.42 12.44 ± 0.51 47.64 ± 0.11 30.67 ± 0.99 9.25 ± 0.01
KGKGK 2.89 ± 0.03 1.46 ± 0.04 59.40 ± 1.02 23.84 ± 0.09 35.57 ± 1.11 28.51 ± 1.18 12.08 ± 0.15
KG3K 2.93 ± 0.05 1.63 ± 0.02 59.21 ± 0.83 34.38 ± 0.15 24.83 ± 0.69 33.32 ± 1.16 7.47 ± 0.01
G5 3.07 ± 0.09 1.92 ± 0.02 55.28 ± 1.12 55.28 ± 1.12 … 43.26 ± 2.43 1.46 ± 1.31

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

Fig. 4 Cross section of: (a) K5; (b) K2GK2; (c) KGKGK; (d) KG3K and (e) G5

Greater homogeneity was observed in the hybrid composites composite (Fig. 8e) was also of the DGM type, with layer
with more R-glass layers, i.e., less resin accumulation, espe- rupture and delamination. Indeed, delamination was observed
cially for KG3K, indicating better processing quality, partly due in all laminates.
to the higher permeability. Table 2 compiles the experimental TS, Et, emax and m values
for all composites. For the G5 composite, tensile strength was
3.2 Mechanical Properties 578 MPa, modulus of elasticity 29.7 GPa, maximum strain
2.46% and the PoissonÕs coefficient 0.20. Ma et al. (Ref 34)
Representative tensile stress–strain curves of all composites
studied R-glass/epoxy composites, equivalent to the G5 com-
are shown in Fig. 7. The pure glass and pure aramid laminates
posite and reported somewhat close values for TS and Et,
showed an abrupt drop at maximum stress. On the other hand,
490 MPa and 27.0 GPa, respectively.
K2GK2 showed first the rupture of the middle glass layer (due
With the increase in the number of glass layers, there was an
to its lower ultimate strain) at 316 MPa. After that, stress
increase in Et and a decrease in emax and m. As for TS, when a
increased again until the aramid layers failed, at 288 MPa. The
single central layer of R-glass was used, there was a reduction
failure mode exhibited by the K2GK2 composite was the same
in TS compared to pure aramid (K5). The first layer that
of K5, DGM, fiber rupture and delamination, as shown in
ruptured was R-glass ( 316 MPa), and the remaining four
Fig. 8a and b.
layers of aramid were not sufficient to overcome the TS of the
The KGKGK hybrid also exhibited two load drops, for the
K5 composite. With the increase in R-glass layers, there was an
two glass fiber layers (at 384 MPa), and then for the aramid
increase in strength, and two layers of R-glass (KGKGK)
layers (at 217 MPa). Figure 8c shows the final breaking of all 5
exhibited TS similar to that of the pure K5, but with 54% higher
plies. The behavior of KG3K (Fig. 7) was closer to that of G5,
stiffness. There was no statistically significant difference
and only the R-glass layers ruptured at first, but the aramid
among the TS values of K5, K2GK2 and KGKGK (according
layers were unable to promote an increase in load. There was
to ANOVA with p factor > 0.05).
delamination of the outer layers of aramid and rupture of the
Similar behavior was reported for carbon/basalt hybrid
glass layers with little delamination (see Fig. 8d).
laminates (Ref 35), i.e., the carbon fiber layers failed first due to
For K5, failure was of the DGM type, with fiber rupture and
the lower maximum strain, with a stress drop, but the basalt
delamination, as shown in Fig. 8a, and the plies failed at
layers were able to support the load until the ultimate load was
different times, until complete failure. Failure of the G5
reached. The TS obtained for some hybrids was lower than that

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

Fig. 5 Cross section micrographs of: (a) K5; (b) K2GK2; (c) KGKGK; (d) KG3K and (e) G5. (magnification: 100 9)

Fig. 6 C-scan images of the composites: (a) K5; (b) K2GK2; (c) KGKGK, (d) KG3K, and (e) G5

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

of the basalt laminate, what was considered unexpected, that is, layers to the aramid outer layers was not efficient, with the
they did not present intermediate values compared to the pure composite failing completely as soon as the R-glass central
laminates. Stress concentrations close to the broken carbon layers failed. Due to the high content of R-glass fibers in the
layers in the hybrid composite were found to accelerate crack KG3K hybrid, its behavior is expectedly close to the pure G5
evolution (Ref 35). laminate.
Comparing the KGKGK and KG3K hybrids, there were It may be said that the hybrid laminates generally fail in two
13% increase in stiffness and 22% in strength when an extra stages, i.e., the R-glass layers fail first due to their lower
layer of R-glass was added. This increase in tensile properties ultimate strain compared to aramid, then the aramid layers fail.
was not greater since the transfer of load from the R-glass A load drop is seen when R-glass layers fail and the remaining
aramid layers carry the load until the aramid ultimate strain is
reached. The delamination that occurs when R-glass layers fail
contributes in decreasing the load-bearing capacity since the
load distribution from one layer to the other becomes ineffi-
cient. If R-glass fibers failed at a higher strain, the hybrids
would likely exhibit higher tensile strength, closer to the pure
R-glass layers.
Table 2 also shows compressive strength (CS), flexural
stiffness and strength (Ef and FS, respectively) and short-beam
strength (SBS) values. A similar trend was found for compres-
sive, flexural and short-beam strengths, i.e., the highest values
are observed for the pure G5, the lowest ones for the pure K5,
and the hybrids presented intermediate values. For instance,
there is an increase in compressive strength with the number of
R-glass layers, and with three layers of R-glass (KG3K), CS
(212 MPa) is 2.2 times greater than for K5 (95 MPa) and 37%
lower than G5 (336 MPa). Under compression, K5, K2GK2 and
Fig. 7 Typical tensile stress–strain curves for the laminates KGKG exhibited HAT (through-the-thickness at grip/tab top)
failure mode, and KG3K and G5, the BGM (brooming gage
middle) type, which is often found in unidirectional fiber
composites but can also be seen in woven textile composites as
local failure mode (Ref 36).
The analytical (CLT) results for the elastic modulus of
K2GK2, KGKGK and KG3K were 18.73, 21.68 and 24.47 GPa,
respectively, with a very low deviation of 0.5-2.2% in relation
to the experimental results. The calculated results for PoissonÕs
coefficient were 0.31, 0.27 and 0.24, with a higher deviation
(10-17%) in relation to the experimental results.
Figure 9a shows typical flexural stress–strain curves for all
composites. The K5 and K2GK2 did not fail up to 5% strain, but
KGKGK, KG3K and G5 presented maximum stresses at 3.09,
3.42 and 2.47% strain, respectively. And more R-glass layers
yielded higher stiffness and strength.
Short-beam strength of all composites is also displayed in
Table 2, and Fig. 9b shows typical short-beam stress–deflection
curves. K5 showed the highest deviation, indicating homo-
Fig. 8 Representative tensile fracture for: (a) K5, (b) K2GK2, (c) geneity difficulties in the process. This confirms the previous
KGKGK, (d) KG3K and (e) G5 C-scan images (Fig. 6), where resin accumulation regions were

Table 2 Mechanical properties of the laminates

K5 K2GK2 KGKGK KG3K G5

Et, GPa 15.559 ± 0.698 (A) 18.588 ± 0.610 (B) 21.800 ± 1.744 (C) 23.933 ± 1.198 (D) 29.735 ± 1.519 (E)
TS, MPa 387.68 ± 16.23 (B) 316.59 ± 17.12 (A) 384.83 ± 15.56 (B) 398.83 ± 21.23 (C) 578.72 ± 18.59 (D)
emax, % 4.75 ± 0.09 (D) 3.58 ± 0.53 (C) 3.33 ± 0.09 (C) 2.73 ± 0.27 (B) 2.46 ± 0.06 (A)
m 0.36 ± 0.05 (B) 0.28 ± 0.07 (A, B) 0.23 ± 0.12 (A) 0.27 ± 0.09 (A, B) 0.20 ± 0.05 (A)
CS, MPa 95.58 ± 9.10 (A) 128.1 ± 4.83 (B) 154.14 ± 8.71 (C) 212.41 ± 12.90 (D) 336.33 ± 18.34 (E)
Ef, GPa 11.698 ± 1.047 (A) 12.494 ± 0.868 (B) 14.407 ± 0.523 (C) 15.980 ± 0.478 (D) 24.013 ± 1.372 (E)
FS, MPa 199.58* ± 11.22 (A) 258.29* ± 19.87 (B) 285.97 ± 20.99 (B) 338.88 ± 26.61 (C) 533.89 ± 24.78 (D)
SBS, MPa 18.50 ± 3.13 (A) 23.02 ± 1.34 (B) 24.46 ± 1.77 (B) 28.22 ± 2.14 (C) 43.04 ± 3.74 (D)
(A), (B), (C), (D) and (E) represent different families according to ANOVA (p < 0.05)
*Stress at 5% strain

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

 (a) With the increase in the number of glass fiber layers, there
were an increase in stiffness and a decrease in maximum strain
and PoissonÕs ratio. In the case of tensile strength, one layer of
R-glass was not sufficient to overcome the strength of the pure
aramid composite. Nevertheless, with a further increase in R-
glass layers, there was an increase in strength. The compres-
sive, flexural and short-beam strengths showed the highest
values for the pure G5 and the smallest ones for pure K5. Short-
beam tests were also used to verify processing quality, and the
composites with R-glass layers showed a reduction in the
deviation of SBS values, indicating greater homogeneity.
In all, it can be concluded that there was an improvement in
composite quality and mechanical performance when aramid
composites were hybridized with a limited number of R-glass
layers. Therefore, based on the combined evaluation of
manufacturing and performance, the use of aramid/R-glass
hybrids may be more interesting than pure rigid aramid
(b) composites in some loading cases.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge DuPont and Owens
Corning for the fiber supply and CNPq and CAPES for the
financial support.

Conflict of interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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