Abstract :
Indonesia as a tropical country has potential plants and trees in which
the fibers are possible to be made as alternative raw materials. One of them is
the hemp tree. When properly processed, the hemp tree fiber can be used to
produce fibers that can be used as materials for the production of natural fiber
composites, which can be used in the automotive and electronics sectors and can
be used as a substitute for synthetic fibers.
The purpose of this study was to identify the amount of variation in
the volume fraction of the hemp fiber composite with a polyester resin matrix.
The subject of the research was the hemp fiber composite ASTM D 790-03 with
a variation of the fiber volume fraction of 10%, 12%, 14% using a polyester
resin matrix and a catalyst.
The results of the analysis of the hemp fiber composite material came
to the conclusion that in the bending test with ASTM D 790-03 the maximum
flexural strength occurred at 14% fiber volume with an average flexural
strength of 50.43 MPa and showed a minimum flexural strength in the fiber
volume composite of 12%. with the strength of the average bending price of
43.80 MPa. Based on the results of the scanning electron microscope (SEM)
analysis, the failure of 10% fiber composites was dominated by the crack
matrix. In the composite, the 14% failure mechanism was dominated by pulling
out and pulling out the fibers. The results showed that the mechanical properties
were almost identical to those of JIS A 5905: 2003 that it was the material could
be used as a car bumper.