Prediction of Mechanical Performance of Natural Fibers Polypropylene Composites: a Comparison Study

Abstract

The future trends of wind turbine blade materials are mostly centered around utilizing lighter materials with improved life cycle and low cost. In modern wind turbine blade, using green composite or biocomposite is a sustainable solution, especially for small wind turbine blade with natural fiber and biodegradable polymer. In this work, four natural fibers (Alfa, Flax, Sisal and Hemp) are used with Polypropylene (PP) thermoplastic polymer. The objective is to evaluate the elastic muduli of composite by two methods; Analytical Mori Tanaka theory and numerical with Digimat MF. The results show a good validation between the two methods. The comparison of the mechanical behaviour of the transversely isotropic of natural fibers indicate that the hemp have a good performance with high Young and shear modulus regarding to their low density, which can offer an excellent candidate for the manufacturing of small wind turbine blades in rural and isolated areas.