Effects of silicon carbide nanoparticles on mechanical and vibrational characteristics of carbon glass epoxy hybrid composites

Abstract This study presents an experimental investigation into the mechanical, vibrational, and acoustic properties of carbon/glass fibre-reinforced epoxy hybrid laminates embedded with varying weight percentages of silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles. The laminates were fabricated using compression moulding, with a six-layer alternating stacking sequence of carbon and glass fibres. A comprehensive series of tests was conducted to assess flexural strength, tensile behaviour, impact resistance, free-vibration characteristics, and sound-absorption performance. Mechanical tests revealed that the laminate with 3 wt% SiC achieved the highest tensile strength of 258.8 MPa, flexural strength of 292.6 MPa, Young’s modulus of 19.13 GPa, and impact strength of 67.9 kJ/m 2 , indicating optimal reinforcement and efficient stress transfer due to uniform nanoparticle dispersion. These values correspond to improvements of approximately 19.05%, 15.22%, 15.37%, and 7.65%, respectively, compared to the unreinforced (0 wt%) composite. SEM analysis substantiated the improved fibre–matrix interaction and the minimal microstructural defects at the optimal filler content. Conversely, the 5 wt% SiC specimens exhibited reduced mechanical performance, attributed to particle agglomeration and weakened interfacial bonding. Vibration analysis indicated a peak in stiffness and natural frequency at 3 wt% SiC, while damping behaviour declined with increasing filler loading. Acoustic testing showed enhanced transmission loss with increasing SiC content, with 5 wt% yielding the best sound-attenuation performance. The study concludes that incorporating SiC nanoparticles into carbon/glass hybrid composites significantly improves their multifunctional performance when the filler content is optimized, with the 3 wt% SiC composition offering the best balance between strength, stiffness, and acoustic efficiency.This advances SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) by developing resilient, lightweight composites for sustainable aerospace/transport infrastructure, reducing emissions via efficiency gains.