Comparative Study of Composites from Fiberglass and Palm Fiber for Body in Energy Saving Car Contest

Abstract

Composite is a new engineering material whose main constituent consists of two or more materials. The combination of these materials will obtain better mechanical properties. Apart from that, making composites also has a relatively cheaper price when compared to other materials, especially metal materials. In this research, we created and carried out a comparative analysis of composites between fiberglass (woven roving) and palm fiber which were applied to the prototype body of the Energy Saving Car Contest. The composite manufacturing process in this research uses matrix material (resin), catalyst, fiberglass and palm fiber using the hand lay up method. The variations used in making composites are variations in the number of layers for fiberglass fiber (2 and 3 layers), and palm fiber using 2 and 3 layers with vertical, horizontal and random fiber directions. The results obtained for tensile strength testing obtained the highest value, namely 109.1 MPa (3 layers of woven roofing). Meanwhile, the highest bending test value was obtained at 4.52 MPa (3 layers of woven roofing). In testing composites based on the fiber direction, the highest tensile strength and bending values were obtained for specimens with 3 layers of random fiber direction, namely 11.1 and 1.18 MPa.