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/m2, 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.
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The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge Advanced Material Testing Lab & Vibrations and Acoustics Lab, School of Mechanical Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India, for facilitating to carry out the testing of specimens.
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Suhas K S : Writing – original draft, Software, Methodology, Formal analysis, Conceptualization. Vamsi Krishna Reddy: Writing – original draft, Methodology, Formal analysis. Yeturi Thirumanas Reddy: Writing – original draft, Software, Resources. Yogeesha Pai: Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Software, Resources.All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Suhas, K.S., Reddy, V.K., Reddy, Y.T. et al. Effects of silicon carbide nanoparticles on mechanical and vibrational characteristics of carbon glass epoxy hybrid composites. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-39559-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-39559-4
