19 - Identification of the Elastic and Damping Properties of Jute and Luffa Fiber-Reinforced Biocomposites

Abstract

Although there are many studies in the literature on the static mechanical properties of biomaterials such as tensile strength, the dynamic mechanical properties of biomaterials such as modal loss factors have not been investigated in detail. In this study, the Young’s moduli and damping (or loss factors) of some jute and luffa fiber-reinforced biocomposites are investigated. The effects of fiber/resin ratio and thickness on the mechanical properties of the jute and luffa composites are identified via an experimental approach. For this purpose, acoustic and structural frequency response functions of some homogeneous and hybrid jute and luffa composite plates with different fiber/resin ratios and thicknesses are measured. By analyzing the measured frequency response functions using the circle-fit method, the modal frequencies and loss factors of the homogeneous and hybrid composite plates are determined. By assuming that the homogeneous plates are isotropic, the same plates are modeled using the finite element method, and by comparing the experimental and theoretical natural frequencies, the elastic properties of the homogeneous plates are determined. In addition, the same homogeneous plates are modeled by considering an anisotropic material model, and the associated material properties are determined. By using the identified material properties, the finite element models of the hybrid composite plates are developed, and by comparing their experimental and theoretical natural frequencies, the identified elastic material properties are evaluated and validated.