PERFORMANCE OF AN AUTOMOTIVE BUMPER FROM LALLOH (Corchorus triden L.) PLANT FIBRE REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITE UNDER MODIFIED DYNATUP MODEL 8150 TEST

Authors

  • M Sumaila MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, ZARIA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA
  • AOA Ibhadode PRODUCTION ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF BENIN, BENIN-CITY, EDO STATE NIGERIA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4314/njt.351.1057

Keywords:

Bumper, Plant Fibre, Composite, Epoxy, Impact Test, Drop Weight Test

Abstract

The work presented here is the production of an automotive Bumper from Lalloh plant (Corchorus tridenL.) fibre reinforced epoxy composite and its performance evaluation using the drop weight test method. An impact test was carried out on the bumper using a test rig modeled after the Dynatup Model 8150 drop weight test set up. Two test variants were used that is, with the bumper completely restraint and the bumper restraint at two-points. The bumper damage were assessed using a set of criteria as outlined by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Results obtained showed that the bumper performed satisfactorily under the completely restraint condition. However, there were, tears, distortion and delamination observed on the bumper after the two-point constraint test. Although the extent of the tear, distortion and delamination were minimal which did not result in the shattering of the bumper. This therefore showed that, the bumper was able to absorb the impact energy by confining the damage to itself, thereby protecting adjacent components.

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Section

Chemical, Industrial, Materials, Mechanical, Metallurgical, Petroleum & Production Engineering

How to Cite

PERFORMANCE OF AN AUTOMOTIVE BUMPER FROM LALLOH (Corchorus triden L.) PLANT FIBRE REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITE UNDER MODIFIED DYNATUP MODEL 8150 TEST. (2015). Nigerian Journal of Technology, 35(1), 114-121. https://doi.org/10.4314/njt.351.1057