Impact Damage Analysis of a Car Bonnet Made of Banana/Betel Nut Shell Fiber/Polylactic Acid Hybrid Green Composite for Pedestrian Safety

Natural fiber composites are increasingly used in automobile parts for their lightweight and environmental sustainability, providing an eco-friendlier alternative to synthetic composites. While much research focuses on developing composites to replace conventional automotive materials, there is limited investigation into biodegradable composites for car bonnets. This study explores the impact damage behavior of an automobile bonnet made of a hybrid green composite with banana fiber (BF) and betel nut shell fiber (BNSF) reinforcement in polylactic acid (PLA) matrix during adult headform collision. The bonnet of a car along with a hemispherical impactor has been modelled using SolidWorks software. Finite element analysis of bonnet has been carried out in ANSYS workbench. The results show that the bonnet has strong impact resistance, with a maximum total deformation of 67.5 mm and a downward vertical deformation of 66.67 mm, both well within the safe limit of 120 mm. The stress analysis reveals high stress at the upper edge, with significantly lower stress levels elsewhere, suggesting that the composite efficiently disperses energy while maintaining structural integrity. The present computational result has also been validated with earlier published experimental results. This resilience makes the BF/BNSF/PLA hybrid composite a promising and sustainable choice for automotive applications, offering both safety and reduced environmental impact.