Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Composite for Use in Military Helmet.

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1 THE POSTGRADUATE SYMPOSIUM ON COMPOSITES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2014 & 4 TH POSTGRADUATE SEMINAR ON NATURAL FIBRE COMPOSITES 2014 Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Composite for Use in Military Helmet S.D. Salman 1, Z. Leman 2 1, 2 Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Serdang, Selangor. * suhaddawood2007@yahoo.com Abstract: Conception of reinforcing plastics by low density, biodegradable natural fiber is gaining high attention for structural uses. A view to reduce the cost of production and the harmful destruction in normal environment, there's a lot of research have been conducted or still ongoing for the possibility of using natural fibers in the combination of biodegradable thermoplastic materials to get materials with light weight, eco-friendly and cheaper hybrid bio-composite. Several layers of kevlar fibers treated woven kenaf fibers with polyester resin will be used to improve the properties of the bio hybrid composites in this research. Different weight percentage of kevlar fibers and kenaf mat will be studied by using hand lay-up combined with cold-press method according to the ASTM D638 standard. Keywords: kenaf, kevlar, polyester, hybrid bio-composite, low velocity impact, ballistic velocity impact. Introduction: In order to decrease traumas and deaths, helmet can protect people from cruel injuries of any accidents. Helmet material technology has changed moderately little since the introduction of aramid in the 1970s. All Army Ballistic helmets use pure woven aramids with a thermoset resin system. The figure below shows a basic summary of helmet designs and materials since World War (WWI) [1]. As shown in Fig. (1). Fig. (1) shows the history of U.S. Army helmet design and materials. Searching in replacing or reducing synthetic fibers by using new materials for the production of hybrid composites materials has opened the opportunity in front of using natural plant fibers which has minimum cost, recycling,biodegradable and available [2]. By using plant fibers reinforced composites with thermoplastic matrices have successfully proven their qualities in various fields of application [3]. Materials and Methods Materials The practical issues about cost, accessibility, and environmental susceptibility will factorize what materials are high-quality candidates to replace the incumbents for any applications [4]. Natural fibers

2 THE POSTGRADUATE SYMPOSIUM ON COMPOSITES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2014 & 4 TH POSTGRADUATE SEMINAR ON NATURAL FIBRE COMPOSITES 2014 offer both cost savings and reduction in density when compared to kevlar fibers. Therefore, hybridization of natural fibers with synthetic fibers to form a hybrid composite may be possible to create a material with the combined advantages. Hybrid composites fabrication by kenaf fibers is economical and provides another dimension to the versatility of cellulosic fiber reinforced composites. As a consequence, a balance in cost and performance could be achieved through proper material design as per directive of Europe states by 2015[5]. To design a functional helmet, it is important to analyze the structure of helmets. The main helmet components are the foam linear and the shell (Thermoplastic or Composite). Basically, the function of the foam is to absorb most of the impact energy, while the function of the shell is to resist penetration of any foreign object from touching the head and resulting in direct skull damage. Woven aramid (Kevlar 29) fibers in different weight percentage of 10,15,20 and 25 wt% will be reinforced with treated woven kenaf/polyester composites by using hand lay-up combined with hot and cold-press method as multi layers as shown in the Fig.(2). Fig. (2) Shows the layers of hybrid composites. Methods Usually manufacturers design their helmet based on experimental verification. During the experimental verification, the helmet must absorb the energy of the impact. The shell must resist penetration of a falling. This penetration test is the main criteria for shell thickness determination. Experimental investigations will be carried out to determine the response of four different combinations of hybrid laminates subjected to low-velocity impact loading using an instrumented impact testing machine and to high-velocity impact using Impact penetration measurements apparatus as shown in Fig.(3). The impact properties of Kevlar reinforced in kenaf composites will be tested according to the standard ASTM D638. Fig. (3) Shows the impact tests.

3 THE POSTGRADUATE SYMPOSIUM ON COMPOSITES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2014 & 4 TH POSTGRADUATE SEMINAR ON NATURAL FIBRE COMPOSITES 2014 Research objectives To develop a new class of hybrid materials based polyester composites to explore the Potential of laminates of treated kenaf and aramid fiber for applications in the helmet industry. To determine the effect of stacking sequences of laminates on mechanical behavior of treated kenaf and aramid fiber reinforced polyester based composites. To evaluate experimentally the effect of hybridization on mechanical properties on aramid and treated kenaf reinforced polyester composite (AKRP). Conclusions It can be claimed that the developed hybrid composite is light in weight, cheaper (as kenaf has been used to substitute high cost synthetic glass fibre) and eco-friendly which can be used for structural applications such as automotive, protective helmet, household and construction industry. The use of natural fibres in industrial application provides challenges form researcher to improvement suitable techniques to get good quality fibres for use as strengthening for polymer composites. By combination one or more types of natural fibres in a resin to form a hybrid composite and may replace or reduce utilization of synthetic fibres in different applications. The focus of the present work is to begin identifying materials with kenaf fibres and design opportunities that could be used to engineer a lighter helmet that meets prescribed baseline performance specifications. Acknowledgements Authors are indebted to the Government of Malaysia through the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI). References [1] Shawn M. Walsh, Brian R. Scott, and David M. Spagnuolo, The Development of a Hybrid Thermoplastic Ballistic Material With Application to Helmets, Weapons and Materials Research Directorate, ARL-TR-3700, December (2005). (Journal) [2] Begum K. and Islam M.A. Natural Fiber as a substitute to Synthetic Fiber in Polymer Composites: A Review, Vol. 2(3), 46-53, April (2013) Res. J. Engineering Sci. Poostforush M. (Journal) [3] Mamun M. and Fasihi M.,Investigation of Physical and Mechanical Properties of High Density Polyethylene/Wood Flour Composite Foams, Res. J. Engineering Sci., 2(1), (2013). (Journal) [4] Ticoalu A., Aravinthan T. and Cardona F., A review of current development in natural fiber composites for structural and infrastructure Applications, Proceedings of Southern Region Engineering Conference(SREC), (Toowoomba, Australia), (2010). (Journal) [5] M. Jawaid, H.P.S. Abdul Khalil, Azman Hassan, Rudi Dungani, A. Hadiyane, Effect of jute fiber loading on tensile and dynamic mechanical properties of oil palm epoxy composites, Composites: Part B 45 (2013) (Journal) View publication stats