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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the tensile strength, Young’s modulus, dimensional stability and porosity of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)–oil palm fiber composite filament for fused deposition modeling (FDM). Design/methodology/approach A new feedstock material for FDM comprising oil palm fiber and ABS as a matrix was developed by a twin screw extruder. The composite filament contains 0, 3, 5 and 7 Wt.% of oil palm fiber in the ABS matrix. The tensile test is then performed on the fiber composite filament, and the wire diameter is measured. In this study, the Archimedes method was used to determine the density and the porosity of the filament. The outer surface of the wire composite was examined using an optical microscope, and the analysis of variance was used to assess the significance and the relative relevance of the primary factor. Findings The results showed that increasing the fiber loading from 0.15 to 0.4 MPa enhanced tensile strength by 60%. Then, from 16.1 to 18.3 MPa, the Young’s modulus rose by 22.8%. The density of extruded filament decreased and the percentage of porosity increased when the fiber loading was increased from 3 to 7 Wt.%. The diameter deviation of the extruded filaments varied from −0.21 to 0.04 mm. Originality/value This paper highlights a novel natural resource-based feedstock material for FDM. Its mechanical and physical properties were also discovered.

In the development and manufacturing industries, fused deposition modeling (FDM) receives the greatest attention. It is the most important additive manufacturing (AM) technique, which refers to the process of depositing multiple layers of material in a computer-controlled environment to form a three-dimensional product. Research is presently focusing on the development of 3D printed bio-composite polymers with improved performance. Many studies on the development of new composite materials using natural fiber as a feedstock filament for FDM have recently been published. As a result, conducting a rheology characteristics analysis of new composite materials made from natural resources is required. Its major purpose is to describe the flow behavior of the fiber composite material and determine the optimal melting temperature for the extrusion process of producing wire filament. Thus, this paper focuses on rheological properties of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite for FDM.

This research examines the impact of self-polymerized polydopamine (PDA) coating on the mechanical properties and microstructural behavior of polylactic acid (PLA)/kenaf fiber (KF) composites in fused deposition modeling (FDM). A biodegradable FDM model of natural fiber-reinforced composite (NFRC) filaments, coated with dopamine and reinforced with 5 to 20 wt.% bast kenaf fibers, was developed for 3D printing applications. Tensile, compression, and flexural test specimens were 3D printed, and the influence of kenaf fiber content on their mechanical properties was assessed. A comprehensive characterization of the blended pellets and printed composite materials was performed, encompassing chemical, physical, and microscopic analyses. The results demonstrate that the self-polymerized polydopamine coating acted as a coupling agent, enhancing the interfacial adhesion between kenaf fibers and the PLA matrix and leading to improved mechanical properties. An increase in density and porosity was observed in the FDM specimens of the PLA–PDA–KF composites, proportional to their kenaf fiber content. The enhanced bonding between kenaf fiber particles and the PLA matrix contributed to an increase of up to 13.4% for tensile and 15.3% for flexural in the Young’s modulus of PLA–PDA–KF composites and an increase of up to 30% in compressive stress. The incorporation of polydopamine as a coupling agent in the FDM filament composite led to an improvement in tensile, compressive, and flexural stresses and strain at break, surpassing that of pure PLA, while the reinforcement provided by kenaf fibers was enhanced more by delayed crack growth, resulting in a higher strain at break. The self-polymerized polydopamine coatings exhibit remarkable mechanical properties, suggesting their potential as a sustainable material for diverse applications in FDM.

Sandwich structures made of glass-reinforced composite facesheet (FS) and honeycomb core are using in many load-carrying applications. This study aims to reduce the dependency on synthetic materials in the composite FS of sandwich structure. Recently, there has been rapid growth in research and innovation in the hybrid composite to achieve the comparable performance of synthetic materials and reduce the cost, weight, and environmental impact. In the present research, the mechanical properties (tensile, axial compression, and flexural) with flax/glass hybrid composite FS sandwich structure were investigated. The hybrid FS was fabricated with different ratios of glass and alkali-treated flax fiber. The sandwich structure with non-hybrid alkali-treated flax and glass composites FS were fabricated for comparison purposes. The overall results showed the potential of using hybrid reinforcement to improve the structural performance compared to non-hybrid flax composite and revealed the promising and comparable structural performance compared with glass composite. The hybrid composite FS by replacing 25% glass by weight with flax fiber achieved 96% axial compression strength and 92% flexural facing stress of glass composite. The H2 hybrid FS using glass in the outer showed only 6% lower flexural stiffness than non-hybrid glass composite when the normalized flexural stiffness results were compared.

The existing cross arms in high transmission towers are made of pultruded glass fibre reinforced polymer composite (PGFRPC). The moisture, temperature change in the atmosphere, and other environmental factors affect the performance of these members and cause a complete failure. It is apparent that any material used in such applications is susceptible to attack from environmental factors. Therefore, a feasible solution for this issue is to enhance the PGFRPC with a composite-filled sandwich structure as an alternative that could sustain longer than the existing cross arms due to its superior performance under bending and compressive loads. This paper presents a case study on experimental and analytical mechanical performance of both PGFRPCs and composite-filled sandwich structure. In this review, the composite-filled sandwich structure is proposed as an alternative to the conventional PGFRPC.

The mechanical, interfacial and thermal properties of a flax/ epoxy composite incorporated with a silica aerogel (SA) at 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 wt.% were examined in this work. A set of maximum enhancements of 8.7%, 9.0% and 24.0% in the impact, inter-laminar shear strength (ILSS) and compressive strengths were achieved by adding 0.5 wt.% SA into the flax/epoxy composites. Also, the results obtained from dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) indicated that the damping characteristics, peak tan delta and peak loss modulus improved at all filler concentrations, while the glass transition temperature (Tg) decreased slightly. Features of SA such as biodegradability, ability to improve the mechanical properties as observed in this work and enhanced damping characteristics make them suitable for application in machine parts requiring impact resistance and vibration damping characteristics.

Cross arms are mainly made up of wood (conventional) and pultruded glass fiber reinforced polymer composite (modern) installed in suspension tower. However, the creep response of both materials has not been fully covered in many literatures to explain the long-term durability of the current cross arm design. Thus, it is necessary to find the creep trends and models to evaluate the behavior in the tropical outdoor environment. The creep properties of Balau wood and pultruded composite at load of 10, 20 and 30 % of ultimate flexural stress were evaluated from quasi-static flexural test results. Using several creep numerical models, the creep properties of wood and composite cross arms were modelled. The results showed that the GFRP had a significant value of flexural strength, while Balau wood performed better in flexural modulus. In terms of creep properties, GFRP specimen exhibited high creep resistance with greater stability during transition from elastic to viscoelastic phase. From numerical modelling perspective, the simulated creep trends from Burger and Norton models were deviated from the experimental data. Subsequently, the most suitable creep model to forecast the creep behavior for wood and composite specimens was Findley model. All in all, pultruded composite is the most appropriate durable material to be applied in cross arms, while Findley model is a suitable model to represent creep performance of anisotropic materials.

The application of a sandwich structure made with composite facesheet and honeycomb core has increased rapidly due to high stiffness to weight ratio characteristics. There is a growing interest in ...

In this work, mesoporous silica with designated amount was added in kenaf/epoxy composites to improve the mechanical properties of the composite and reduce the water uptake of fabricated composites. The composites were fabricated using hot press method (HP) and impregnation method (IMP). For HP specimens, silica was dispersed into epoxy resin using homogenizer before being applied to the kenaf mat and subsequently hot pressed. While for IMP specimens, the kenaf mat was placed inside the silica/epoxy solution under 600 mm Hg impregnation pressure before being hot pressed. The results for flexural properties revealed that IMP specimen with 40 vol% of kenaf fibre and 5 vol% of silica have the highest strength and modulus at 78.6 MPa and 5.11 GPa respectively. Same trend can be seen for compressive properties as the same specimen had the highest compressive strength and modulus at 69.3 MPa and 1.81 GPa respectively. Finally for water absorption properties, IMP specimens had a reduction in water uptake compared to its HP specimen counterparts with the same kenaf and silica content. IMP specimen with 60 vol% kenaf and 5 vol% silica had the lowest water uptake after 90 days of immersion in distilled water at 13.5% increase in weight.

The leading objective of this experimental study is to perform a Short-term Creep Testing on samples (coupon test) obtained from a private company in order to learn the durability of the Unsaturated Polyester Resin (UPR) material with and without Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) on the applied cross-arm application according to ASTM E139. Through the method of flexural test jig (three point bending test) along with the usage of the furnace chamber HK160, samples then examined with initial temperature of 30°C until it breaks down. Result has been evaluated using conventional method for predicting the life-long purpose of the samples for future reference and analysis. The configurations or the patterns of the failure through (conventional) method recorded for short term test inside HK160 Chamber furnace fails at temperature of 120°C for samples without CaCO3 the samples fails and crack. Therefore, the samples with due to the material of UPE with FRP in a bar shape are said to have Ultimate Temperature for Failure of 120°C. Further details are crucial for advance analysis in the future research purposes.

The effect of calcium carbonate on the creep phenomenon of glass fiber/unsaturated polyester resin composites (GFRP) (obtained by pultrusion) was investigated due to failure that happened during installation of one of the composite transmission tower. To assess long-term creep and predict the life of composites, a conventional bending method with 45-day creep and time-temperature superposition principle (TTSP) were used. In the conventional method, the composites (with and without calcium carbonate) underwent only slight deformation. It was found that their lifetime could be 25 years. However, based on the standard curve obtained by the TTSP method, significant differences were shown in the stability of calcium carbonate composite samples at 95°C (111 days) and 160°C (11 days). It was found that the addition of calcium carbonate extends the service life of the tested composites. Thus, the results obtained by the conventional method do not reflect the real behavior of the samples over time. On the other hand, the TTSP method allows better estimation of the long-term durability of composites.

Natural fibres have been gaining a lot of attention for its use in various of fields. It has a potential to replace synthetic fibre due to their availability from renewable natural resources, high specific strength and modulus, low cost, light weight and biodegradability. This paper investigates tensile and quasi static compression properties of flax reinforced polylactide acid (flax/PLA) composites. Initially, the effect of variation of manufacturing temperature on tensile properties of flax PLA composites was examined at three different temperatures of 170, 180 and 190 °C a pressing times of 5, 10 and 15 min were considered. Then a range of double cell walls interlocking square core structures were manufactured using hot press machine and later fabricated through a simple slotting technique. Next, the sandwich structures were tested under quasi-static compression loading with a crosshead displacement rate of 2 mm/min to evaluate their compression properties. The study revealed that that flax/PLA composites manufactured at a temperature of 180℃ and pressed for 5 min. gave the highest value of strength, whereas a temperature of 190℃, pressed for 15 min. is the lowest. Furthermore, results showed that sandwich structures with double cell walls exhibited better strength and energy absorption capacity by approximately 80 and 86% respectively than those offered by ingle cell wall cores as reported in the literatures.

Despite numerous studies on the factors which influenced the properties of the geopolymer binder have been conducted, the effect of different factors on the properties of geopolymer binder was not well determined. In this research, geopolymer materials were analyzed and profiled using a statistical approach called 2-level fractional factorial design (2-FrFD). The objective is to screen and identify important factors affecting the behaviour of geopolymer binder. MINITAB, a statistical software, was used to design the experiment, analyze data obtained and present the significance value of the factors via chart and plots. The result showed that the curing temperature (V3) did not have a significant effect on the fire resistant properties of the geopolymer binder with the p-value of 0.526. Other factors and interaction were significant with RHA/AA ratio (V2) was the most significant factor with the coefficient value of 135. For the compression strength properties, all factor and interactions were significant (p-value between 0.000 and 0.009) with the RHA/AA ratio (V2) recorded the highly significant factor with the coefficient value of 8.838. For adhesion strength properties, NaOH concentration (V4) and curing time (V5) were found to be insignificant with the p-value of 0.223 and 0.133, respectively. Other factors and interaction were significant curing temperature (V3) was the most significant factor with the coefficient value of 0.287. This result may hugely benefit future researchers, towards producing halal and sustainable polymer, in determining the suitable factors which have a significant effect of the properties (outcome) of the geopolymer binder.

This paper introduces the conceptual design of the wooden cross-arm of transmission towers using the application of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ), the morphological chart and the Analytical Network Process (ANP) methods. The main objective of this study is to develop and choose the optimal conceptual design of the component according to the requirements of the product design, with a particular focus on including wood in the design of the component. During early solution generation, the TRIZ contradiction matrix and 40 instruments were used for the solution of inventive principles. By using morphological diagrams, the key solution parameters for specific design features was refined to establish theoretical concepts systematically for the elements. Four design principles of the innovative element were developed and ANP finally used for carrying out a multi-criteria decision-making process to select the best design for the wooden cross-arm of transmission tower. A second conceptual design was chosen as the optimum design for the suggested designs based on the results.

This paper aims to carry out an experimental and numerical investigation of the mechanical behavior of full-scale wooden 123 KV 13 L Cross-arm that used in transmission towers. Two points bending test was conducted to obtain load-deflection data of both scenarios, normal condition scenario and broken wire condition scenario. Balau wood was used to fabricate the whole structure of the cross-arm which includes main, tie and bracing members. When it comes to the normal condition, standard load 7.98 K N, with 8 organized steps with angle Θ = 54.2° at YZ plan from Y-axis were applied. while Fr = 16 K N with 16 organized steps with angle Θ = 12.6° at the horizontal plan, α = 17.57° at vertical plane was applied for the broken wire condition. Deflection values due to these loads were determined by using 25 dial gauges that installed on both main members and tie members. Load-deflection investigation of both X–Y plots was considered for the main members while the Load-deflection investigation of Y plot was considered for tie members. Experiments of load-deflection data were validated by conducting a simulation process of normal conditions. The simulation process was designated to the first point (at R,L 734 mm) on the main members in both directions X and Y-axis during the normal condition. The numerical results of simulation have proven that the experiments were confident 93%.

Wood and composites cantilever beam structure has gained attention among researchers in the current years due to its universal structural applications, such as bridges, aeroplane wings, buildings, and transmission towers. However, when the structure is exposed to a constant loading for a very long time, it induces a structural collapse due to creep deformation. Therefore, it is essential to understand and identify the initial creep that can lead to structural collapse. In this study, wood and composite materials exhibit the same structural material morphology which performs as anisotropic material as it majorly contributes to failure. In this study, a state-of-the-art review of creep analysis and engineering design is carried out, with particular emphasis on the creep methodology of a cantilever beam. The existing theories and creep design approaches are grouped into two analysis methods, namely experimental and numerical approaches. To be more specific, the experimental works involved two main methods, namely load-based (conventional) and temperature-based (accelerated) techniques. Selected creep test on cantilever beam structure and coupon scale of wood and composite were highlighted and proposed as the building blocks for a prospective structural creep methodology. These aids build confidence in the underlying methods while guiding future work and areas, especially for long-term service of full-scale structure. At the end, the challenges of creep behaviour description accuracy and improvement on the strength criteria in engineering design were presented.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is capable of producing complicated geometries and a variety of thermoplastic or composite products. Thus, it is critical to carry out the relationship between the process parameters, the finished part’s quality, and the part’s mechanical performance. In this study, the optimum printing parameters of FDM using oil palm fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites were investigated. The layer thickness, orientation, infill density, and printing speed were selected as optimization parameters. The mechanical properties of printed specimens were examined using tensile and flexural tests. The experiments were designed using a Taguchi experimental design using a L9 orthogonal array with four factors, and three levels. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the significant parameter or factor that influences the responses, including tensile strength, Young’s modulus, and flexural strength. The fractured surface of printed parts was investigate using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show the tensile strength of the printed specimens ranged from 0.95 to 35.38 MPa, the Young’s modulus from 0.11 to 1.88 GPa, and the flexural strength from 2.50 to 31.98 MPa. In addition, build orientation had the largest influence on tensile strength, Young’s modulus, and flexural strength. The optimum printing parameter for FDM using oil palm fiber composite was 0.4 mm layer thickness, flat (0 degree) of orientation, 50% infill density, and 10 mm/s printing speed. The results of SEM images demonstrate that the number of voids seems to be much bigger when the layer thickness is increased, and the flat orientation has a considerable influence on the bead structure becoming tougher. In a nutshell, these findings will be a valuable 3D printing dataset for other researchers who utilize this material.

Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is a filament-based rapid prototyping technology that allows new composite materials to be introduced into the FDM process as long as they can be manufactured in feedstock filament form. The purpose of this research was to analyze the rheological behavior of oil palm fiber-reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) composites when used as a feedstock material, as well as to determine the best processing conditions for FDM. The composite’s shear thinning behavior was observed, and scanning electron microscopy was used to reveal its composition. The morphological result found that there was a good fiber/matrix adhesion with a 3 wt% fiber loading, as no fiber pullouts or gaps developed between the oil palm fiber and ABS. However, some pores and fiber pullouts were found with a 5 and 7 wt% fiber loading. Next, the rheological results showed that the increment of fiber content (wt%) increased the viscosity. This discovery can definitely be used in the extrusion process for making wire filament for FDM. The shear thinning effect was increased by adding 3, 5, or 7 wt% of oil palm fiber. The non-Newtonian index (n) of the composites increased as the number of shear rates increased, indicating that the fiber loading had a significant impact on the rheological behavior. As the fiber loading increased, the viscosity and shear stress values increased as well. As a result, oil fiber reinforced polymer composites can be used as a feedstock filament for FDM.

The hybridisation of conceptual design methods is presented in the development of multi-operations creep flexural test rig. The paper explains the integration of theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ), Morphological chart, and Analytic Network Process (ANP) method to ensure the quality function is fulfilled with the essential requirements. The objective of this project is to produce and choose the best design concept for the product development depending on the product design specifications (PDS). In the early stage of product development, the TRIZ contradiction principles and 40 TRIZ inventive solutions were applied as the guidance tools. To refine the specification of the product design, the principle solution parameters were detailed systematically with the aid of morphological chart. In this article, four innovative conceptual designs of the multi-operations creep flexural test rig were produced and the selection process was conducted using ANP method to perform the multi-criteria decision making process in selecting the best concept design. Keywords: Conceptual design, TRIZ, Morphological chart, Analytic Network Process, Flexural creep, Test rig

The paper presents the investigation of the effect of alkaline treatment of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) on physical and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) viscoelastic properties of kenaf fibre filled natural rubber (NR)/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composites. The treated kenaf fiber, NR and TPU were weighed and proportioned according to the required compositions and were blended using hot mixed Brabender machine. The polymer composites were then fabricated using the hot press to form a sample board. The sample was cut and prepared and water absorption, density, thickness swelling and DMA tests were performed. As far as physical properties are concerned, composites with the highest NR amount of shows the best results, which indicates good fiber bonding adhesion. The polymer composites with the highest amount of TPU shows the highest damping properties at high temperature.

Silica aerogel (SA) was used as fillers in the sugar palm/polyester composite (SPF/PE). Their influence on tensile, flexural, and impact properties of the composite was determined by varying the additive concentration from 1-5 wt% in the resin. The findings from the study indicate that both the strength and modulus of SPF/PE improved significantly by adding SA. Maximum tensile, flexural, and impact strength occurred at an optimum filler concentration of 2-3 wt%. Similarly, the highest tensile and flexural modulus was achieved with 5 wt% and 2 wt%, respectively. The microstructure of SA-infused composites revealed less fiber pullout/slippage compared to the composites without filler.

Cross arm is the main component used to lift the electric cable in a transmission tower. Recently, a synthetic cross arm was proposed to substitute the wooden cross arm due to the extreme creep deformation, which can induce a structural collapse. Several creep studies were conducted on a coupon scale for the synthetic cross arm. However, there is a lack of study on the assessment of creep properties for the actual size cross arm. Thus, the development of a special rig is required to accommodate the creep test. The paper explains the development of creep testing rig for a full-scale cross arm using the integration of theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ), morphological chart, and analytic network process (ANP). In the beginning, the finding of principle solutions was conducted using the TRIZ contradiction matrix. The characterisation of the design concepts was elaborated using the morphological chart. Finally, the ANP principle was exploited to select the best design via the pairwise comparison technique. The results show that Concept Design 5 (hybrid bracing design) scored the highest value and ranked first. Lastly, challenges on the design of creep testing machine and the improving criteria in concurrent engineering is presented. Keywords: TRIZ, ANP, Morphological chart, Creep testing rig, Full-scale cross arm

This paper aims to study the degradation rate of sugar palm nanofibrillated cellulose (SPNFCs) and sugar palm starch (SPS). SPNFCs were isolated from sugar palm fiber, while SPS is extracted from sugar palm trunk. The SPNFCs were reinforced with SPS biopolymer as biodegradable reinforcement materials of different diameter/length based on the number of passes of high pressurize homogenization process (5, 10 and 15 passes represented by SPS/SPNFCs-5, SPS/SPNFCs-10, and SPS/SPNFCs-15). These SPNFCs were incorporated into SPS plasticized with glycerol and sorbitol via solution casting method. Soil burial experiment performed on SPS and SPS/SPNFCs bionanocomposites showed that SPS was degraded more rapidly by losing 85.76% of its mass in 9 days compared to 69.89% by SPS/SPNFCs-15 bionanocomposite. The high compatibility between SPNFCs nanofiber and SPS biopolymer matrices can be observed through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM).

Lignocellulosic/natural fibre and glass fibre-based hybrid composites are considered as high-performance composites but very limited numbers of researchers worked on substituting sugar palm fibre with glass fibre in hybrid composites. The main goal of this research to investigate the effect of various treatment such as 6% alkaline (TNSP), 2% silane (TSSP) and combined 6% alkaline–2% silane (TNSSP) on physical and thermal properties of sugar palm/glass/thermoplastic polyurethane hybrid composites were carried out. Taking into account of physical properties, the combined alkaline–silane treated hybrid composites (TNSSP) showed the lowest density, thickness swelling, and water absorption as compared to other composites. The good thermal stability was discovered for treated as compared to untreated sugar palm fibre based composites (UTSP). Overall, the treated sugar palm/glass/thermoplastic polyurethane hybrid composites suitable for the fabrication of automotive components. Keywords: Sugar palm fibre, Glass fibre, Hybrid composites, Physical properties, Thermal properties