Abstract :
Composites are materials consisting of two or more different types of
materials, namely reinforcement and matrix. Ramie fiber and vetiver fiber are
potential reinforcing materials to be used as reinforcement in composites because
they have good properties such as high strength, light weight, and environmental
friendliness. Meanwhile, the polyester matrix was chosen because it has low
production costs, is easy to obtain, and can be applied to various industries,
especially in the UAV industry.
The purpose of this study was to find out how changes in the volume fraction
in a mixture of ramie fiber and vetiver fiber affect the impact and bending strength of
materials using a polyester matrix. The method used is Hand Lay-Up, where hemp
fiber and vetiver fiber were mixed with a polyester matrix in different volume fraction
variations. The volume fractions included 10% flax:5% vetiver fiber, 15% flax:5%
vetiver fiber and 20% flax:5% vetiver fiber.
The results showed that the effect of 5% vetiver fiber and an increase in the
percentage of hemp fiber increased the impact strength of the composite. The highest
impact strength occured in the volume fraction composite of 20% hemp fiber and 5%
vetiver fiber with an impact strength of 0.11456 J/mm2. The effect of 5% vetiver fiber
and increasing the percentage of hemp fiber also increased the bending strength of
the composite. The highest bending strength occurred in the volume fraction
composite of 20% hemp fiber and 5% vetiver fiber with a bending strength of 25.009
N/mm2.