Digital Image Correlation and Static Structural Analysis of Mechanical Behavior of Unidirectional Helicteres isora Fiber-Reinforced PLA Biocomposites

Natural fiber-reinforced composites have attracted considerable interest because of their eco-friendly nature and impressive mechanical properties. Numerical models of composites are helpful to predict the behavior of materials before actual testing or application. In the current study, chemically modified Helicteres isora fiber-reinforced Polylactic acid composites were evaluated to determine the Poisson’s ratio using Digital Image Correlation analysis and static structural simulation of the laminated composites to predict the tensile and flexural behavior of the composites. The modeling of Laminated composites for static structural simulation was done using ANSYS ACP (PrepPost). The properties of the fiber mat and matrix material, as per the experimental study, were considered for the simulation input parameters. The layers of the laminated composite specimens in experimental work were replicated in ANSYS ACP. The static structural analysis was accomplished to find the maximum equivalent stress, maximum deflection, and stress distribution patterns in tensile and flexural models. The deviation in the results of the simulation from the experimentally obtained results was 2.70% and 1.80% in tensile and flexural stress, and 4.48% and 5.03% in tensile and flexural deformation, respectively.