Failure mode analysis of ramie fiber reinforced composite material

Abstract

This study aims to determine the failure mode of ramie fiber reinforced epoxy composite materials (RFRECM). The method used is testing the composite test sample that includes tensile test according to ASTM D 3039/D3039M, compression test according to ASTM D 695, simulation by using computer software, and morphology analysis by using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The results show that RFRECM has SR ≥1 for failure criteria derived from stress theory, strain theory, and Tsai-Wu criteria, while having SR <1 only for the criteria of Tsai-Hill. Theoretically, the epoxy flax fiber composite has good strength in fiber or longitudinal direction (00) and decreases with the addition of the angle of the fiber. The failure mode of RFRECM is caused by voids, initial cracks, delimination and debonding occurring between 5-10% of the total area observed in the test sample. This condition can occur in all test samples as a result of imperfections of the fabrication process.