Article: Modelling and simulation of natural fibre/epoxy composites - prediction of stress state and deformations Journal: International Journal of Materials Engineering Innovation (IJMATEI) 2019 Vol.10 No.2 pp.114 - 134 Abstract: Natural fibres usually include hemp, jute, and flax fibres are gaining importance in composites with an increasing potential to replace synthetic fibres in advanced composites. Current glass and carbon fibre systems require large amount of energy in production, which has led to an upsurge in interest in the reinforcement potential of natural fibres. Especially with natural fibres, higher variability of mechanical properties is a major challenge. Therefore, prediction of laminate performance at early stages of design requires computation. The present work was intended to understand how the flax fibre layups and orientation affect the mechanical behaviour of laminated composites. Unidirectional, cross-ply, angle-ply, and quasi-isotropic laminates made up of flax fibre reinforced epoxy are considered to study tensile, flexural behaviour, and stress distribution in the individual laminae. A classical laminate theory, which considers elastic behaviour of the laminae, and a finite element simulation are used to predict the stress-strain response of a layered composite. Further, results showed that the quasi-isotropic flax/epoxy laminate perform better than angle-ply and cross ply laminates. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Modelling and simulation of natural fibre/epoxy composites - prediction of stress state and deformations

Authors: R.T. Durai Prabhakaran; Mohit Gupta; Puneet Mahajan; Graham A. Ormondroyd

Addresses: The BioComposites Centre, Bangor University, Bangor Gwynedd, North Wales, UK ' Department of Applied Mechanics, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India ' Department of Applied Mechanics, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India ' The BioComposites Centre, Bangor University, Bangor Gwynedd, North Wales, UK

Abstract: Natural fibres usually include hemp, jute, and flax fibres are gaining importance in composites with an increasing potential to replace synthetic fibres in advanced composites. Current glass and carbon fibre systems require large amount of energy in production, which has led to an upsurge in interest in the reinforcement potential of natural fibres. Especially with natural fibres, higher variability of mechanical properties is a major challenge. Therefore, prediction of laminate performance at early stages of design requires computation. The present work was intended to understand how the flax fibre layups and orientation affect the mechanical behaviour of laminated composites. Unidirectional, cross-ply, angle-ply, and quasi-isotropic laminates made up of flax fibre reinforced epoxy are considered to study tensile, flexural behaviour, and stress distribution in the individual laminae. A classical laminate theory, which considers elastic behaviour of the laminae, and a finite element simulation are used to predict the stress-strain response of a layered composite. Further, results showed that the quasi-isotropic flax/epoxy laminate perform better than angle-ply and cross ply laminates.

Keywords: natural fibre; epoxy; flexural loads; cross/angle-ply; plate theory; FE analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMATEI.2019.099790

International Journal of Materials Engineering Innovation, 2019 Vol.10 No.2, pp.114 - 134

Received: 20 Jun 2018
Accepted: 07 Aug 2018
Published online: 22 May 2019 *

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Title: Modelling and simulation of natural fibre/epoxy composites - prediction of stress state and deformations

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