INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES
Manu Chettoor
Roll No 11
M Tech Machine Design(PT)

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
NATURAL FIBERS
MANUFACTURING
EXPERIMENTS
MECHANICAL POPERTIES
THERMAL PROPERTIES
RECYCLABILITY
FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

INTRODUCTION
How to Increase the efficiency without compromise on
desired properties & Safety?
Replace Glass fiber with natural fiber in thermoplastics
Compared to commercial synthetic materials, Natural
fiber thermoplastic components can afford advantages

Weight reduction
Cost reduction
Recyclability
Eco-friendly
Enhanced properties
INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER
REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

Introduction Continue
Focus: Natural fiber reinforced thermoplastics
Vs Synthetic fiber reinforced thermoplastics
Summary:
Natural Fibers
Materials & Methods
Mechanical Properties
Thermal Properties
Recyclability
INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER
REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

Natural Fibers
Kenaf Fiber

(Hibiscus

cannabinus)

Bamboo Fiber
Banana Fiber
Sisal Fiber
Jute Fiber

This research paper go

with Kenaf Natural
Fiber reinforced
Thermoplastics
INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER
REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

KENAF
Natural long fiber
from the plant
Hibiscus Canabinus
Heavily available
High specific
mechanical
properties
Renewability
Biodegradability
Low cost

Property Kenaf

Glass

Density

1.4

2.4

Strength

280-300

20003000

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

EXPERIMENT
LFRT (Synthetic Glass Long Fiber Reinforced
Thermoplastics)
KLFRT (Kenaf Long Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics)
Hybrid (Kenaf & Glass fibers used as reinforcement
material)
Thermoplastic Matrix: Poly Propylene(PP)
Reinforced Materials: Synthetic Fiber Or Natural Fiber Or
Hybrid
Experiment: Analyze & compare properties of Commercial
fiber thermoplastics with Natural fiber and Hybrid
thermoplastics
INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER
REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

MATERIALS & METHOD

Fiber + Poly Propylene Matrix => Thermoplastics
Composite
LFRT => 40% Glass Fibers
KLFRT => 40% Kenaf Natural Fibers
Hybrid => 40% Kenaf & 10% Glass
How to Enhance properties of Natural Fiber?
Chemical Treatment
Remove moisture content
Remove impurities
Stabilize molecular orientation
The method of extracting Fibers from the plant
INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER
REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

MANUFACTURING
Natur
al
Fiber

PP+

Fiber
Pellets

IMPREGNATION
Glass
Fiber

MOULDING PROCESS

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

Specime
n

Impregnation Process
o Kenaf Fiber roving
o Feed Kenaf Fiber through
the dye
o Feed PP to the dye
o Chemical agent: Maleic
acid anhydride
o Fiber get impregnated PP
o Individual filaments coated
with PP
o Impregnated fiber with PP
matrix chopped to KLFRT
pellets
o Pellets(10-11 mm
length,3mm dia)
For this research:
KLFRT
LFRT (GLFRT)
Hybrid

TKLERT (Twisted Kenaf Fiber)

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

EXPERIMENTS & TESTING

Mechanical Properties
Thermal Properties
Recyclability
5 Set specimen of each(KNFRT, LFRT,
Hybrid)
ASTM Standard
INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER
REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

EXPERIMENTS & TESTING

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
Tensile Strength
Flexural Strength
Impact Strength

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

TENSILE TESTING
ASTM D-3039 std.
Dimension of std.
specimen 250X25mm
5 Set of specimen
tested for 3 different
reinforcement
Calibrated Autograph
2003 testing machine
Speed of testing
5mm/min
INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER
REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

TENSILE TESTING
Analysis & Comparison

Tensile Strength
KLFRT > Hybrid >
LFRT
Good adhesion &
binding between fiber
& matrix
Stress transfer from
matrix to fiber

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

FLEXURAL TESTING
ASTM D-790 (3point
Bending) std.
5 Specimen tested
Calibrated Autograph
testing machine
Speed of testing
10mm/min
5% deflection of
specimen
Tested specimens
having various
span(100, 80, 60 mm)
INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER
REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

FLEXURAL TESTING
Flexural Strength

Analysis &
Comparison

KLFRT > Hybrid >

LFRT
Flexural strength of
KLFRT is higher than
Hybrid and LFRT

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

IMPACT TESTING
ASTM D-256-04 std.
Izod impact testing
Dimension of std.
specimen
(63.5X12.7X3.2mm)
5 specimen tested
LFRT > Hybrid PP >
KLFRT
Impact strength of
KLFRT is challenging

Analysis &
Comparison

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

THERMAL PROPERTIES
HDT
Heat Deflection
Temperature
Retain stiffness at
elevated temperature
Temperature at which
material can deflect
by 0.25mm at an
applied force
Testing dimensional
stability

HEAT AGING

Tensile properties of
composites before &
after heating
Aging at 120
for
1000 hr.

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

THERMAL PROPERTIES
HDT
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

Heat Aging
Tensile Strength (MPa)

Befor Afte %Chan

e
r
ge

KLFRT

86.6

82.3

-4.3

Hybrid PP 93.2

90.5

-2.7

LFRT

100.
2

-2.2

KL
FR
T

H
yb
ri

LF
RT

HDT(0C)

Sample

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

102.4

RECYCLABILITY
More recyclability->More
ecofriendly
Recycling leads to reduce
the properties
Analyze Properties after &
before recycling
% Retention in tensile
properties
Strength of KLFRT remains
same
Strength of glass fiber
decreased after recycling
(100>84>70%)

Retention Strength During

Recycling

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

Assumptions
Fibers are not porous
Considered as isotropic material
Fibers having uniform properties with
diameter
Equal bonding between fiber and matrix
Fibers are perfectly aligned
Composite is free of voids
Modeling
Solid Element(Fiber-Matrix)
Model is assumed to be an isotropic
material
Cross section of model
Section is modeled in detailed using
volume element to represent composites
Each element will be positioned
corresponding to fibers
Mesh region are coarsely meshed
INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER
REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

CONCLUSION
Topic concentrated on mechanical, thermal & recycling
properties of Kenaf natural fiber reinforced composites
Natural fiber reinforced Thermoplastics(KNFRT & Hybrid)
shows superior mechanical & thermal properties
Recycling properties of KLFRT is immense compared to
its mechanical & thermal properties
It is clear that natural Kenaf fiber composites can
replace commercial LFRT for Automotive components

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

REFERENCES
1) Influence of natural fibers in recycling of thermoplastic for Automotive components; IEEE Mach 2012,
S.Jayanthy, J.Jeevamalar, Dr.J.Jancirani, Dept. Mechanical, Japiaar Engineering College
2) Influence of natural long fiber in mechanical, thermal & recycling properties of thermoplastic composites
in Automotive components; International Journal Nov 2012, Dept. Automobile Engineering, MIT
3) Improving mechanical properties by Kenaf natural fiber reinforced composites for Automotive
structures; Journal of Applied Science & Engineering 2012
4) Mechanical Properties of short Banana fiber reinforced natural rubber composites; International Journal
of innovative research in science, engineering technology, May 2013, S.Raghavendra, Lingaraju, P
Balachnadra Shetty, PG Mukunda, Dept. Mechanical, NMIT.
5) Evaluation of tensile & flexural properties of hemp & Polypropylene based natural fiber composites;
2010, Dr.H.K.Shivnand, Prakash.S.Inamdar, Dep.Mechanical, University Visvesvaraya college of
engineering
6) Trends in natural fiber production & its future; G.Siti Aisyah, R. Mohd Tajuddin, University Teknologi
MARA, Malaysia
7) Finite element analysis of natural fiber composite beam,;International journal of modern engineering
research, T. Subramani, S. Vishnupriya, VMKV Engineering college, Salem

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

Q&A

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FIBER

REINFORCED COMPOSITES IN
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES