Low-Velocity Impact, Free-Fall Drop Test of Prototype, and Failure Analysis of Hybrid Palm / Kenaf Reinforced MWCNT Phenolic Composites

ABSTRACT

The research’s aim is to investigate the energy absorption, free-fall drop analysis, and failure analysis of Palm (P)/kenaf (K) fiber-reinforced MWCNT-phenolic composites. 3P:7K reinforced MWCNT–phenolic composites were made using manual mixing and hot pressing at 150°C with a pressure of 10 tonnes. Energy absorption was investigated using a drop weight impact tester. Free-fall drop test was performed to analyze the performance of the aircraft tray table prototype. Non-destructive testing was carried out to investigate the damage mechanism. The results demonstrate that as the impact energy increased from 1.50 J to 3.0 J, the crack length increased. There is a difference of 3% to 15% in the crack sizing between dye penetration and Digital Detector Array (DDA), indicating that DDA is more accurate. In the free-fall drop test, small cracks were detected in the dye penetration method on the prototype. The DDA approach, however, did not reveal any defects. The agglomerations were observed through DDA and Computed tomography. In this study, the hybrid CR/kenaf reinforced MWCNT modified phenolic composites exhibit superior performance that can act as an efficient and eco-friendly material for aircraft tray table application by preserving natural resources.

摘要

本研究旨在研究棕榈（P）/红麻（K）纤维增强MWCNT酚醛复合材料的能量吸收、自由下落分析和失效分析. 3P:7K增强MWCNT-酚醛复合材料是在150°C、10吨压力下通过手动混合和热压制成的. 用落锤冲击试验机研究了能量吸收。进行自由跌落试验，以分析飞机托盘台原型的性能. 为了研究损伤机理，进行了无损检测. 结果表明，随着冲击能量从1.50 J增加到3.0 J，裂纹长度增加. 染料渗透和数字探测器阵列（DDA）之间的裂纹尺寸差异为3%至15%，表明DDA更准确. 在自由跌落试验中，在原型上的染料渗透法中检测到小裂纹. 然而，DDA方法没有发现任何缺陷. 通过DDA和计算机断层扫描观察结块. 在本研究中，CR/红麻混杂增强MWCNT改性酚醛复合材料表现出优异的性能，通过保护自然资源，可作为飞机托盘桌应用的高效环保材料.

KEYWORDS:

• Hybrid composites
• palm fiber
• kenaf fiber
• multi-walled carbon nanotubes
• low-velocity impact
• free-fall drop analysis
• nondestructive testing

关键词:

• 混杂复合材料
• 棕榈纤维
• 红麻纤维
• 多壁碳纳米管
• 低速冲击
• 自由落差分析
• 无损检测

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude and sincere appreciation to the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Laboratory of Biocomposite Technology, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia (HICOE) for the close collaboration in this research. The authors also extend their acknowledgment to Polytechnic Banting Selangor and Malaysian Nuclear Agency for their support in terms of the NDT testing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work is supported by UPM under GPB grant, 9668200.