Abstract:
The study's main aim was to develop a lightweight walling panel for apartment buildings by
employing coconut [coir] fiber with waste polyethylene. In this study, the flexural performance
of coconut fiber reinforced polymer [CFRP] sandwich panels with different core
configurations has studied experimentally and numerically. The numerical investigation was
carried out using finite element analysis software “ANSYS 17.2”. The coconut fiber
reinforced polymer sandwich panel was developed with thin CFRP sheets for the outer faces
and cell arrangement for the internal core structure which was made by the same CFRP sheets.
The sequences of cells with different core structures were considered to determine the
optimum solution for flexural behavior. The first part of this study was the investigation of
coconut fiber's physical, mechanical, and chemical properties by using an experimental
investigation and a literature review. The next step was to develop the CFRP composites. In
this study, the coir fiber was used as reinforced material, and the waste polyethylene was
utilized as a matrix material. Composite was developed using hand-layup techniques by
varying the coir length and coir weight fractions. This composite material was analyzed using
ASTM standards for tensile and bending performance. The sample which optimum results
obtained relevant to the coir length and weight fraction were used to develop a composite
sandwich panel of 400mm x 400mm in size. The most suitable manufacturing conditions were
also studied. The flexural properties of this panel were inspected using experimental and
numerical methods. The three-point bending test was carried out to investigate the maximum
failure stresses for the panel sample. The next part of this study is to develop the numerical
models for the three-point bend test using finite element software. Then, the experimental
results obtained from the three-point bend test and numerical outcomes are compared and
validated. In the end, the numerical analysis is expanded to examine the sample panel's flexural
performance of different cell arrangements. Finally, the failure stresses and the volume at
minimum failure stress were identified for each cell configuration. This result concluded that
the best cell configuration with minimum weight for wall panels was the result. The proposed
wall panel should be durable and low-cost. Therefore, service characteristics and production
costs were analyzed. Further, to extend this research, the proposed wall system's life cycle cost
and embodied energy were analyzed to identify the long-term benefits of the proposed walling
system.
Citation:
Dharmaratne, P.D. (2022). Coconut fiber reinforced polymer composite for non-load bearing panel walls [Doctoral dissertation, University of Moratuwa]. Institutional Repository University of Moratuwa. http://dl.lib.uom.lk/handle/123/21184