Experimental and Finite Element Analysis of Lignite Fly Ash on the Mechanical Properties of Sisal-added Polymer Matrix Composite Using ANSYS Workbench

Abstract

The influence of lignite fly ash (LFA) on the physical properties of polymer matrix composite (PMC) was studied by comparing the theoretical, experimental, and numerical simulation results. The study was conducted on various compositions of PMCs prepared using epoxy resin amalgamated with LFA and sisal fiber by hand layup process. The two-dimensional approach of testing the tensile strength of PMC consisted of the rule of mixtures and Halpin–Tsai methods. On the other hand, the three-dimensional approach of testing the tensile strength and flexural strength of PMC was based on finite element analysis using ANSYS Workbench. Collectively, it can be deduced that PMC with 10 wt.% LFA has better mechanical properties than PMC samples without it, which is shown by the higher value of tensile strength as 31 MPa. The observed results showed aconsiderable increase in flexural strength to 85.576 MPa for the sample containing 10 wt.% of LFA. Anotable decrease in the wear resistance from 11.5 to 4.7 at 20 N load showed its improved durability. In addition, Ahigh increase in impact strength to 29 J showed its higher mechanical strength.

Keywords

• sisal fiber
• epoxy polymer
• mechanical properties
• finite element analysis
• rule of mixture
• halpin–tsai