Studi Fraksi Volume Kombinasi Serat Resam Dan Serat Daun Nanas Terhadap Kekuatan Mekanik Papan Komposit

Abstract

The demand for lightweight, strong, and environmentally friendly composite materials continues to grow as an alternative to synthetic fiber-based materials that are non-biodegradable. Natural fibers such as resam fiber and pineapple leaf fiber are abundant in West Kalimantan; however, their utilization remains limited. This study aims to evaluate the effect of varying volume fractions of resam and pineapple leaf fibers on the impact strength of polyester resin-based composites. The composites were fabricated using the vacuum bagging method with unidirectional fiber orientation. The fibers were treated by soaking in a 5% NaOH solution for 2 hours to improve their quality. Composition variations consisted of 50%, 60%, and 70% resin with different fiber fraction combinations. Mechanical testing was conducted using the Charpy impact method in accordance with ASTM D6110. The results show that increasing the proportion of resam fiber contributed more significantly to impact strength compared to pineapple leaf fiber. The highest impact strength was obtained in composition K3 (30% resam fiber, 20% pineapple leaf fiber, 50% resin) at 0.3400 J/mm ², surpassing the impact strength of 600 gsm woven roving fiberglass at 0.280 J/mm ². According to the Rules and Regulations for the Classification and Construction for Ship of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic issued by the Indonesian Classification Bureau (BKI), flexural testing is the primary requirement for FRP materials used in ships. Nevertheless, impact testing remains important as supporting data to describe a material"™s ability to absorb impact energy, particularly in applications prone to collisions such as ship hulls.