Strength Analysis and Variation of Elastic Properties in Plantain Fiber/Polyester Composites for Structural Applications

Abstract

Plantain fiber-reinforced composite materials have demonstrated significant properties that are applicable in structural design and development. However, two major concerns arise in relation to the obvious material anisotropy and challenges imposed by structural discontinuity encountered as need for use of fasteners arises. The study assesses the extent of variation of elastic properties (E x , E y , G xy , v xy , v yx , m x , m y) with fiber orientation using MATLAB functions while considering the extent of variation of the tangential stresses around an idealized functional hole edge. The tensile strength of 410.15 and 288.1 MPa was recorded at 0°fiber orientation angle, while 37.3397 and 33.133 MPa were obtained at fiber orientation angle of 90°for Plantain Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber Composite (PEFBFC) and Plantain Pseudo Stem Fiber Composite (PPSFC), respectively. The tangential stress distribution at hole edge indicated maximum stress value of 119.15 and 100.587 MPa at angular position ø = 90°for PEFBFC and PPSFC, respectively. Judging from various failure indices considered, failure will be initiated at ø = 70°for PEFBFC with stress concentration factor of 2.53 and ø = 65°for PPSFC with stress concentration factor of 2.13, which are less than the stress concentration around the peak stress when angular position is 90°. Both PEFBFC and PPSFC showed similar trends in response to the design scenario considered.