Low-velocity Impact Response of Jute/Banana Fiber in Natural Rubber-Based Hybrid Composites: FE Approach

Green composites are proposed as environmentally friendly, easily recycled, and reusable advanced composite materials. The present study aims at studying the damage done by low-velocity impact (LVI) of jute and banana fiber-based green composites using commercial finite element (FE) software. The LVI response is evaluated for flat, hemispherical, and conical impactors at three velocities of 5, 10, and 15 m/s. Hybrid composites are modeled in two stacking sequences: jute-rubber-banana-rubber-jute (JRBRJ) and banana-rubber-jute-rubber-banana (BRJRB). These hybrid green composites are compared to their pure fiber counterpart composites, i.e., jute-rubber-jute-rubber-jute (JRJRJ) and banana-rubber-banana-rubber-banana (BRBRB). The ABAQUS Finite Element Modeling software is used to model, and the explicit dynamic solver is used to simulate these proposed composites. The absorbed energy at 5 m/s for flat impactor for JRJRJ and BRBRB is 3.5 J and 0.52 J, respectively, whereas for JRBRJ and BRJRB is 2.3 J and 1.4 J, respectively. Similar results are obtained for 10 and 15 m/s. The energy absorbed follows a sequence JRJRJ > (JRBRJ, BRJRB) > BRBRB. The flat impactor has more damage due to its larger contact area and high energy absorption at higher velocities. Impact due to conical impactor shows local penetration and lower energy absorption. Results show that the proposed composites exhibit better energy absorption due to a flexible matrix and more resistance to damage due to the involvement of a hybrid structure which makes the composite stiffer.