Identification of the Dynamic Characteristics of Luffa Fiber Reinforced Bio-Composite Plates

Abstract

Luffa cylindrica plant fiber is a new biodegradable engineering material. However, the dynamic behaviors of these new green materials or their composites should be explored to consider them for practical applications. The dynamic characteristics including modal behavior and the elastic and sound isolation properties of luffa-based bio-composite plates were explored in this study. Structural frequency response function measurements were conducted using a few luffa bio-composite plates to identify their modal behavior. The modal frequencies and loss factors of the luffa bio-composite plates were identified by analyzing the frequency response function measurements using a few modal analysis methods such as half-power, circle-fit, and line-fit. The same luffa bio-composite structures were modelled using a finite element formulation with damping capability, and the elastic moduli of the composite plates were identified. In addition, the transmission loss levels of the same luffa composite samples were measured using the impedance tube method. The results showed that luffa composite structures have considerably high stiffness (elasticity modulus: 2.5 GPa), damping levels (loss factor: 2.6%), and transmission loss level (25 to 30 dB for a 1 cm thickness), and their mechanical properties are promising as an alternative disposable material for noise and vibration control engineering applications.

Acoustic and mechanical properties of luffa fiber-reinforced biocomposites

“…Experimental investigations [41,43,45] show that luffa composite samples can have considerably high transmission loss levels (Fig. 5).…”

Caracterización dinámica vibratoria experimental de compuestos reforzados con fibra natural de fique

“…La magnitud del amortiguamiento presentado por los biocompuestos indican que permiten disipar alta energía por vibraciones o impactos, lo que hace posible emplearlos en aplicaciones donde se requieran aisladores de vibración o sonido como lo sugieren Akash et al [39] y Genc et al [40] en investigaciones dinámicas realizadas a biocompuestos con otro tipo de fibras naturales.…”

Jute and Luffa Fiber-Reinforced Biocomposites: Effects of Sample Thickness and Fiber/Resin Ratio on Sound Absorption and Transmission Loss Performance

“…Acoustic properties of the jute and luffa fiber and their composite forms have been determined experimentally in some works (Fatima and Mohanty 2011;Genc and Koruk 2017;Raj, Fatima, and Tandon 2020;Saygili et al 2020;Tang and Yan 2017;Tanobe et al 2005;Thilagavathi et al 2018;Zakriya and Ramakrishnan 2019). For example, the acoustic properties of the jute and luffa fibersreinforced composites for a single thickness and a single fiber/epoxy ratio have been experimentally determined before (Saygili et al 2020).…”