Bending Strength of Fiber Metal Laminate Based on Abaca Fiber Reinforced Polyester and Aluminum Alloy Metal Sheet

The Fiber Metal Laminate (FML) discussed here was made from Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite, laminated by aluminum alloy sheet. The FRP composite panel was made from abaca fiber and polyester resin matrix. The objective was to study the bending strength of the FML with different fiber content. Five panels of abaca FRP were prepared using hand-lay-up methods. The weight content of the fiber in the panels were 0%, 3.56%, 5.18%, 8.94% and 12.22% respectively. The aluminum alloy sheet was laminated to the composite panel using epoxy super glue. The density of the FMLs were measured to confirm the fiber content in the panels. The bending specimen were prepared based on ASTM D-7264. The bending strength that represented by flexural stress of the FML panels were 53.15, 56.44, 46.80, 63.53 61.48 and 49.57 MPa, respectively. The result of the experiment showed that the content of abaca fiber significantly affects the bending strength of the FML. The highest bending strength (63.53 MPa) was produced by the FML with 5.18% fiber content. The result of the study showed that the bending strength of abaca FML was 19.5% higher than commercial FML (53.15 MPa). It was an indication that abaca fiber could be used to substitute the glass fiber in commercial FML.