A Numerical Study on Coconut Inflorescence Stem-Fiber-Reinforced Panels Subjected to Tensile Load, Compressive Load, and Flexural Load

Abstract

Natural-fiber-reinforced composites are attracting an increasing amount of interest, and they are becoming more popular as a replacement for synthetic-fiber-reinforced composites. Natural-fiber-reinforced composites are important as a potential building material due to their lightweight nature, strength, and favorable qualities, which include eco-friendliness, non-toxicity, and biodegrad-ability. Natural fibers such as hemp fibers, jute fibers, banana fibers, coconut fibers, sisal fibers, bamboo fibers, areca nut fibers, and kenaf fibers have been used for making composite panels be-cause of their strength-to-weight ratio. Coconut inflorescence stem fibers are considered for our study. Coconut inflorescence stem-reinforced composite panels are often subjected to tensile load, compression load, and flexural load. Tensile strength, compressive strength, and flexural strength play a vital role when these panels are subjected to service loads. In this context, finite element analysis (FEA) is carried out on coconut inflorescence stem-reinforced panels subjected to tensile load, compressive load, and flexural load. A linear analysis is performed for the mechanical properties by using ANSYS workbench 2021 R1. A coconut inflorescence stem-reinforced composite specimen with the dimensions 280 mm × 25 mm × 3 mm (length × width × thickness) for tensile loading, 145 mm × 25 mm × 4 mm for the compressive load, and 150 mm × 25 mm × 4 mm for the flexural load is considered for the present study, as per the ASTM-D3039, ASTM-D3410, and ASTM-D790 standards, respectively. Finite element analysis results showed good correlation with the analytical results. © 2024 by the authors.