Study on hybrid composites for roofing applications

In the past three decades composite materials, plastics, and ceramics is emerging as new products and materials and thereby replacing conventional steel materials. The market demand for composite materials is also growing steadily. The newly developed technologies in the manufacturing of composites make the way of using this product for high-end applications. The main advantage of using composite materials is that the weight reduction in the product and it can be produced at a cheaper cost without compromising quality requirements. This leads the researchers to innovate new products using composite materials. Similarly, the researchers are focusing to produce a composite material using natural fibers. In this research work, the hybrid composite material was fabricated using Ceramic and Coir fiber as reinforcement material with Polypropylene as a matrix. The focus of the research work is to find the suitability of the hybrid composite board for the application of roofing material. The composite product thus produced was evaluated by testing its mechanical properties such as Tensile strength, Flexural rigidity, Modulus, Extension at the break, and Inter Laminar Shear strength, adhering to ASTM standards. By adopting Lee Disc Method, the thermal Conductivity of composites was calculated. The performance of the hybrid composite has been compared with the existing roofing material such as Plywood and Asbestos.