THE EFFECT OF VOLUME FRACTION AND ALKALI TREATMENT ON THE IMPACT STRENGTH OF A COMPOSITE MADE FROM PINEAPPLE LEAF FIBERS (ANANAS COMOSUS L. MERR) – EPOXY

Indonesia is one of the largest pineapple producing countries in the world. So far, pineapple leaves only become agricultural waste. One way to use pineapple leaves is by processing the fibers in pineapple leaves into a reinforcing material for composites. Composite is a combination of two or more materials that have a number of properties that cannot be possessed by each component, which are then arranged in a symmetrical combination to obtain certain properties. In this research, pineapple leaf fiber was used as a filler, while epoxy as a matrix is a resin that has good strength and durability. Pineapple leaf fiber – epoxy composite is an alternative material for making SNI helmets and car bumpers. This research aims to determine the effect of volume fraction and alkali treatment on the impact strength of composites made from pineapple leaf fiber - epoxy. The volume fraction used is 10%, 15%, 20%. Alkaline treatment is carried out by soaking pineapple leaf fibers for 1 hour in NaOH solution with NaOH levels of 5%, 10%, 15%. The impact strength test results show that a volume fraction of 10% with alkali treatment with a NaOH content of 15% produces the lowest average value of impact strength is 0.024 J/mm², while a volume fraction of 20% with alkali treatment with a NaOH content of 10% produces the highes average value of impact strength is 0.046 J/mm². Where these results meet the SNI helmet standard with an impact strength of 0.00972 J/mm², meeting the Japan Industrial Standard (JIS) A5905-2003 standard car bumper strength value of 0.02433 J/mm². This research concludes that a higher volume fraction produces a higher impact strength value, but this value decreases as the NaOH content of alkali treatment increases.