Saudi Journal of Engineering and Technology (SJEAT)
Volume-10 | Issue-01 | 1-8
Original Research Article
Development of Automobile Bumper Fascia from Plantain Fibre-Reinforced Polyester Composites
Benjamin Ufuoma Oreko, Stanley Okiy
Published : Jan. 3, 2025
Abstract
Applying natural fibre-reinforced polymer composites for automobile body parts has not gained much attention in Nigeria. Natural fibres appear to be a good alternative to non-biodegradable synthetic fibres. This work aimed to develop natural fibres obtained from plantain pseudo-stem for reinforcement with polyester composites for automobile bumper fascia application. The plantain fibres were manually extracted and treated using the mercerization process. Compressive and impact tests were carried out on the laminates which were prepared according to the ASTM D695 and ASTM D256 standards, respectively. The plantain fibre-reinforced composite automobile bumper was then constructed using the hand lay-up technique. Laminates with volume fractions 0.3 and 0.4 are produced and analysed for impact and compression tests. From the experimental results, it was observed that the Impact strength for a volume fraction 0.3 and 0.4 was 12.22 kJ/m2 and 13.83 kJ/m2, respectively and compressive strength for a volume fraction 0.3 and 0.4 was 65.3x103 kN/mm2 and 67.4x103 kN/mm2, respectively. The study shows that plantain fibre-reinforced polyester composites could be an alternate candidate for automotive bumper fascia.