Study of Mechanical Properties of Hemp Fiber Composites for Electric Bicycle Frames

Abstract

Electric bicycles are one of the two-wheeled transportation that has been widely used. The structure of the bicycle is generally composed of several components, one of which is the frame. The frame serves to support the load on the bicycle. At present, many changes in design, geometry and bicycle-forming materials have been carried out. In general, bicycle frames are made of metal and alloy because they have good strength to support the load of the driver. Lately, the use of composites has begun to develop as a bicycle frame material, because the frame of the bicycle has become lighter but still has the strength to support the load. This paper presents a study of the structure of electric bicycles using composite material based on epoxy matrices with rami fiber reinforcement. This study used an experimental and simulation method by designing composite laminates with A(90o/90o/90o), B(90o/45o/90o), and C(45o/45o/45o) fiber webbing layout and then carried out free compressive strength (UCS), optical microscopy and simulation using ANSYS 19.0 software. The results obtained are composite laminate design with a woven fiber layout (45o/45o/45o) having the highest strength value with a compressive stress value σ=58.64 MPa in the axial compressive plane, and σ=1.539 MPa in the tangential compressive plane. Likewise, the simulation results also obtained the highest strength in the webbing design (45o/45o/45o) which is equal σs=58.72 MPa in the axial compressive plane and σs=1.531 MPa in the tangential compressive plane.