Free Vibration Analysis of Bamboo Fiber-Based Polymer Composite

The present work aims to study the free vibration and damping properties of pure bamboo bioepoxy composites (B), pure basalt bioepoxy composites (b), and bamboo/basalt fiber reinforced hybrid bioepoxy composites. The pure and hybrid composites were fabricated by hand layup technique with different layering sequences such as BBBB, bbbb, BbBb, BBbb, BbbB, and bBBb. Experimental modal analysis was performed to obtain the natural frequency and the damping characteristics of the fiber reinforced composites. Variations in the natural frequency and damping characteristics were noticed with different layering sequences of the fiber in the composites. For instance, a higher natural frequency was obtained when bamboo fiber was stacked on the top surface and an enhanced damping behavior was noticed when basalt fibers were used as skin layer in hybrid composites. Numerical analysis was performed and the results were compared with the experimental results.