Mechanical and impact performance of oil palm trunk fiber composites for crash box applications

Sukarno Sukarno, Indah Melati Suci

Abstract


The increasing demand for lightweight and sustainable materials in automotive safety components has driven interest in natural fiber composites. Abundant oil palm trunk waste in South Kalimantan presents a promising, low-cost source for composite reinforcement. This study aims to analyze the crashworthiness performance of crash box structures using oil palm trunk fiber composites as an environmentally friendly alternative material. The research method involved the fabrication of composite specimens with fiber orientations of 30°, 60°, and 90°, using epoxy resin as the matrix. Mechanical testing included tensile tests based on ASTM D638-02 and Charpy impact tests based on ASTM D6110. The tensile test results showed that fiber orientation significantly affects the mechanical properties of the composites. The 60° orientation exhibited the highest tensile strength and elastic modulus, while the 30° orientation demonstrated the highest elongation, indicating better ductility. The 90° orientation showed intermediate performance but tended to be brittle. The impact test results revealed that the 60° fiber orientation had the highest toughness in absorbing impact energy, whereas the 30° and 90° orientations displayed lower toughness. Overall, the 60° fiber orientation of oil palm trunk composites shows potential for crash box applications, as it provides a balance between strength and toughness, although its brittleness still requires further consideration.


Keywords


Oil palm trunk fiber; natural composites; tensile strength; impact toughness; crash box; sustainable materials

Full Text:

PDF

References


M. Christyanto and H. Mayulu, “Pentingnya pembangunan pertanian dan pemberdayaan petani wilayah perbatasan dalam upaya mendukung ketahanan pangan nasional: Studi kasus di wilayah perbatasan Kalimantan,†Journal of Tropical AgriFood, vol. 3, no. 1, p. 1, 2021.

H. P. L. Marisa Naufa, “Pemanfaatan Serat Batang Kelapa Sawit Sebagai Lembaran Serat Semen,†Jurnal Teknik Dan Teknologi, vol. 14, pp. 40–48, 2019.

N. Susilawati, C. Nurhayati, and T. Susanto, “Komposit Limbah Serabut Kelapa Dan Karet Alam Sebagai Alternatif Bahan Peredam Suara Utilization Of Fiber Waste And Natural Rubber As An Alternative Noise Reduction,†Jurnal Rekayasa Material, Manufaktur dan Energi, vol. 7, no. 2, 2021.

S. Gurunathan, S. Mohanty, and S. K. Nayak, “A review of the recent developments in biocomposites based on natural fibres and their application perspectives,†Compos. Part A: Appl. Sci. Manuf., vol. 77, pp. 1–25, 2015.

S. S. Munawar, C. D. Widyanto, and L. S. Hutahean, “The effect of oil palm trunk particles and composite density on the physical and mechanical properties of rigid polyurethane foam composite,†IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci., vol. 891, p. 012003, 2021.

S. Ming and Z. Song, “The energy absorption of long origami-ending tubes with geometrical imperfections,†Thin-Walled Struct., vol. 161, p. 107415, 2021.

M. Rusly, R. Sulistyowati, and P. L. Toruan, “Analisis Uji Tarik Komposit Serat Batang Kelakai Dengan Variasi Katalis Untuk Pembuatan Material Bumper Mobil,†JoP, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 43–48, 2023.

A. Praveen Kumar and Ch. Pradeep, “Impact loading behavior of woven glass fabric polymer composite bitubular square sections,†Mater. Today: Proc., vol. 47, no. 17, 2021.

A. M. Moghaddam, A. Kheradpisheh, and M. Asgari, “A basic design for automotive crash boxes using an efficient corrugated conical tube,†Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. D J. Automob. Eng., vol. 235, no. 7, pp. 1835–1848, 2021.

J. Xu, Y. Zhang, J. Wang, F. Jiang, and C. H. Wang, “Crashworthiness design of novel hierarchical hexagonal columns,†Compos. Struct., vol. 194, pp. 36–48, 2020.

A. Chandak, N. Gandhe, K. Choudhari, N. Gaikwad, and P. Thorat, “To enhance crashworthiness of an automobile by introducing energy absorbers and to study its implementation,†Mater. Today: Proc., vol. 47, no. 11, pp. 3006–3011, 2021.

A. M. H. S. Lubis, A. Putra, A. S. H. M. Yasir, I. Irianto, and S. G. H. Herawan, “Structural and acoustical performances of oil palm trunk waste–elastomeric thermoplastic polyurethane composite,†Heliyon, vol. 10, no. 5, 2024.

M. Hasan, A. Rahmadi, D. Henny, A. Program, and S. Kehutanan, “Sifat fisis dan mekanis crash box dari serat batang kelapa sawit (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) dengan berbagai komposisi perekat PVAc,†J. Sylva Scienteae, vol. 8, no. 5, 2025.

I. Mawardi and S. Aprilia, “Investigation of thermal conductivity and physical properties of oil palm trunks/ramie fiber reinforced biopolymer hybrid composites as building bio-insulation,†Mater. Today: Proc., vol. 60, pp. 373–377, 2022.

M. R. M. Asyraf, M. R. Ishak, A. Syamsir, and N. M. Nurazzi, “Mechanical properties of oil palm fibre-reinforced polymer composites: A review,†J. Mater. Res. Technol., 2022.

I. B. Wiranto et al., “Experimental studies on crashworthiness analysis of a sandwich composite panel under axial impact: A comprehensive review,†Procedia Struct. Integr., vol. 48, pp. 65–72, 2023.

E. Cischino et al., “A concrete and viable example of multimaterial body: The evolution project main outcomes,†Procedia CIRP, vol. 66, pp. 300–305, 2017.

E. Acara, M. Altinb, and M. A. Guler, “Evaluation of various multi-cell design concepts for crashworthiness design of thin-walled aluminum tubes,†Thin-Walled Struct., vol. 142, 2019.

Sukarno, M. Batomi, Asrul, and M. Ashar, “Analisis kekuatan lengkungan material baja karbon rendah pada lambung kapal,†J. Ilm. Tek. Mesin, vol. 12, no. 1, 2024.

A. Eyvazian, T. N. Tran, and A. M. Hamouda, “Experimental and theoretical studies on axially crushed corrugated metal tubes,†Int. J. Non-Linear Mech., 2018.

D. Yana, R. Husna, and I. Kusmawati, “Fabrication of thermal bioinsulator from oil palm trunk fiber: Analysis of thermal, physical and mechanical properties,†Indones. Phys. Rev., vol. 7, no. 2, 2024.

M. M. Abedi, A. Niknejad, and G. H. Liaghat, “Foam-filled grooved tubes with circular cross section under axial compression: An experimental study,†Iran. J. Sci. Technol. Trans. Mech. Eng., 2017.

R. Apriandi, “Desain dan studi numerikal crashworthiness sistem bemper mobil listrik dua penumpang,†Mech. Eng., Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, 2024.

“Kaji eksperimental pengaruh ukuran dan komposisi filler komposit poliester serbuk kayu terhadap sifat mekanik dan permukaan patahan statik,†J. Polimesin, vol. 20, no. 2, 2022.

“Kajian perlakuan serat sabut kelapa terhadap sifat mekanis komposit epoksi serat sabut kelapa,†J. Polimesin, vol. 19, no. 1, 2021.

“Aplikasi teknik manufaktur vacuum assisted resin infusion (VARI) untuk peningkatan sifat mekanik komposit plastik berpenguat serat abaca (AFRP),†J. Polimesin, vol. 18, no. 2, 2020.

“Kekuatan lentur komposit sandwich kayu bakal lambung perahu sebagai core dan poliester serat gelas sebagai skin,†J. Polimesin, vol. 21, no. 1, 2023.

“Pengaruh variasi fraksi volume filler terhadap sifat mekanik komposit rambut manusia bermatriks epoksi dengan penguat talc powder,†J. Polimesin, vol. 22, no. 1, 2024.

M. Balfas, “Analisis sifat mekanis bahan komposit lamina serat sisal (Sisalana agave) bermatriks polimer,†J. Technol. Process, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 1–13, 2022.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30811/jpl.v23i5.7818

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Bookmark and Share


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Lisensi Creative Commons

Ciptaan disebarluaskan di bawah Lisensi Creative Commons Atribusi-BerbagiSerupa 4.0 Internasional .

 

Alamat Surat :

Politeknik Negeri Lhokseumawe
Jl. Banda Aceh-Medan Km 280
Buketrata, Lhokseumawe, 24301, Aceh, Indonesia