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Experimental Test Effect Of Fiber Glass And Direction

Of Strength Matrix Composite Materials Airfoil
Profile Fan Blades
Sugeng Ariyono, Carli, Ariawan Wahyu Pratomo, Hery Tristijanto
Department of Mechanical Engineering Politeknik Negeri Semarang
*Corresponding author: s.ariyono@gmail.com

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Abstract

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The use of composite materials is nowadays increasingly widespread. Those materials are not only
appliedasacovermaterial(skin)butalsoasmainstructureinthemechanicalconstruction.Composite
materialscommonlyusedareglassfibercomposites(fiberglasscomposite).Theaimofthisresearchisto
develop fan blade made of fiber glass composite. This study discusses experimental testing for
investigating influence of fiber orientation and matrix material that applied as a fan blade to its
mechanicalstrength.Inpresentstudyascompositematrixareepoxyandpolyester.Thecompositewas
manufacturedusingHandLayUpmethodandstackedwith6layerswithfiberdirectionof0/90and
45.TheHandLayUpmethodwaschosenbecausethatmethodissimpleandcheapenough.Inaddition,
thespecimensthentestedusingbendingtestmachinebasedonteststandardASTMD6272,withthe
FourPointBendingmethod,whilefortensiletestingusingatensiletestingmachine(selvopulser)with
thestandardtestASTMD3039.Theresultsshowedthatthetensileandbendingstrengthofcomposite
fiberglass/epoxycompositeishigherthantheglassfiber/polyester.Testresultsalsoshowedthatthe
tensileandbendingglassfibercompositewithfiberorientation0/90hashighertensilethanthefiber
orientation45,meanwhiledeflectionofthecompositewithfiberorientation45gavehighervalues
(moreelastic).

Graphicalabstract

Keywords:Composites,HandLayUpmethod,glassfiber/epoxy,glassfiber/polyester

2012PenerbitUTMPress.Allrightsreserved.

1.0INTRODUCTION
Windas asource ofenergy isthe mostabundant sourceof
renewableenergy.Windenergywillremainthereaslongasthe
earthisgettingenergyfromthesun.Oneofthetoolsthatutilize
wind mechanical movement is the propeller. Propeller is a
componentofthemachinewhichisusedtotransmitpowerby
convertingrotationalmotionintothrust[1][2].Thedevelopment
ofcurrentpropellerisveryrapidanddiverse.Propelleriswidely
usedintheaerospaceindustry,maritime,andenergymachinery,
suchasthemanufactureofaircraft,ships,hovercraft,andvarious
types of turbines [3][4]. Wind turbine has great potential to
generateelectricityeventhoughfromthedata,generally,thewind
energypotentialinIndonesiawasnotgreat,butbasedonasurvey
and measurement of wind data that has been conducted since

1979,manyprospectiveareasforwindspeedannualaverageof
3.44.5m/secorhavingenergiesbetween200kWh/mto1000
kWh / m. This potential can already be used for smallscale
electricitygenerationto10kW[5].
Themostimportantthingsinthedesignofwindturbineblades
arebothformandmaterial.Microwinturbineunder5kW,the
bladeisusuallymadefromwoodasseeninFigure1.Thistypeof
propellercanreceivewinspeedupto50m/sec.Forlargerwin
turbinetheblademostlymadeofcompositeeithercarbonfiberor
glass fiber. Meanwhile most propellers used for aerospace or
hovercraftsaremadefromfiberglassbecauseitneedslargertrust
[6].Inpractice,toobtainhighefficiency,fanbladesmusthave
certaincharacteristics,suchasalight,stiff,strong,andnoteasily
affected by the environment (such as corrosion), therefore the

20 (2012) 85-88 | www.jurnalteknologi.utm.my | eISSN 21803722 | ISSN 01279696

Author et al. / Jurnal Teknologi (Sciences & Engineering) 58 (2012) 8588

material used for the manufacture of the fan blades must be

appropriatelychosen[7].
Composite material is composed of more than one type of
material and designed to get a combination of the best
characteristicsofeachofitsconstituentcomponents.Basically,
thecompositecanbedefinedasamacroscopicmixtureoffiber
andmatrix. Fiber is a material that is generally much stronger
thanthematrixandservestoprovidetensilestrength,whilethe
matrixservestoprotectthefiberfromenvironmentaleffectsand
damagecausedbycollision.Compositehasgreatstrengthandcan
be designed based on the need of it strength. The direction,
compositionandtypeoffiberglasswilleffecttoitstrength.

Figure1.2kWWindTurbinewithwoodenblade
The main benefit of the use of composites is to obtain a
combinationofpropertiesofhighstrengthandstiffnessandlight
weighttype.Compositecanalsobeformedinveryuniqueand
complexshape.Bychoosinganappropriatecombinationoffiber
andmatrixmaterials,thestrengthofcomponentcanbedesigned
properlybasedontheneedofitapplication.Thisresearchshows
simpleexampleoftheeffectofdirectionoffiberonitsstrength
byusingtensiletest,bendingtestandfinallydynamictestonreal
conditionwithCPPmachine.
2.0FABRICATIONMETHOD
Handlayupmethodwasusedtomanufacturetheblade.Firststep
wastodesigntheshapeofbladeandusingCAMthebladewas
manufacturedusingwoodasrawmaterial.Whereastofindthe
appropriatedirectionandcompositionoffiber,thespecimenwas
made in 4 different compositions [8]. The specimen was then
tested using tensile test and bending test. Blade pattern made
fromwoodwasusedtomanufacturemoldmadeoffiberglass.A
releaseagent,usuallyineitherwaxorliquidform,isappliedto
removethefinishedmoldeasilyfromthepatternbladeasseenin
Figure2[9].Thesurfaceofthemoldshouldbepolishedandlay
up with release agent before it is used to make blade. Layup
technique with fiber orientation epoxy 0/90o, the blade was
fabricated.

Figure 2. Blade pattern

and mold master to

Author et al. / Jurnal Teknologi (Sciences & Engineering) 58 (2012) 8588

epoxyresinmatrixwithfiberorientation0/90obtainedresults
tensiletestmaximumvoltageaverageof112.8MPa.
AsfortheEpoxy45,theaveragemaximumstressof82.34
MPa.Resultsoftensiletestforfiberglasswithpolyesterresin
matrixwithfiberorientation0/90tensiletestresultsobtained
maximumvoltageaverageof118.86MPa.Asforthepolyester
45,theaveragemaximumstressof90.49MPa.Fromtheabove
averageresultscanbeseeninFigure5.
fabricate next blade

3.0EXPERIMENTALMETHODANDDISCUSSION
3.1TensileTest
Tensileandbendingtestspecimens,asseeninFigure3,were
madeintheformofcompositeplatesweremanufacturedbyhand
layup method, created in the six layers of glass fiber Woven
Rovingtype(WR).Geometryanddimensionsofthetensileand
bendingtestspecimensadaptedtostandardASTMD3039and
ASTMD6272(fourpointbending)[10].

Table1.ResultsofTensiletest.

Polyester
45

3,50

20,0

Length
( Lo )
(mm)
100,8

Polyester
45

3,65

21,9

98,8

92

Polyester
45

3,20

21,65

97,75

95

4
5
6

Polyester 0/90
Polyester 0/90
Polyester 0/90

3,10
2,80
3,30

19,50
21,45
19,65

93,7
94,45
89,05

112
136
107

Epoxy
45

4,10

21,70

101,78

61

Epoxy
45

2,60

22,50

91,10

105

Figure3.sizeofspecimenbasedonASTMD3039

3,35

21,30

98,4

80

Testspecimensofcompositebendingshapereferstothestandard
ASTMD6272(fourpointbending),whichhasdimensionsof
length=100mmandwidth=10mm.Specimenthickness=3
mmasseeninfigure4.

10
11
12

Epoxy

45
Epoxy 0/90
Epoxy 0/90
Epoxy 0/90

3,00
3,05
3,10

20,20
19,50
19,0

96,75
96,25
96,50

95
124
118

Figure 4 specimens of blade material

TensiletestresultsdatausingServopulserengine,withload(P)
by2tons(2000kg)canbeseeninthetable1.Thetableshows
thattheresultsoftensiletestingofglassfibercompositeswith

N
o

Specimens

Thickness
(mm)

Wide
(mm)

Tensile
mak.
( Mpa )
83

Figure5.Diagramoftheinfluenceoftheorientationofthefibers
andthematrixofthemaximumtensilestress
The average tensile strength from table 1 can be plot into
graphsuchasinFigure5.Maximumtensilestrengthoccursinthe
second bar with value 118.86 Mpa. This indicates that the
Polyesterwith90o fiberdirectionhasbetterstrengthcompareto

Author et al. / Jurnal Teknologi (Sciences & Engineering) 58 (2012) 8588

Epoxy0/90o.Figure1indicatesthatthedirectionoforientationof
the fibers in the sample influence on mechanical properties,
especially tensile strength composite. Tensile strength was
greatestinthedirectionoffibercompositeswith0/90.Thiscan
be explained by looking at the analysis of microscopic stress
actingonthecomposite.Directionoforientationisimportantin
strengthening the composite. Since the direction of fiber
orientation is closely related to the deployment of the forces
acting on the composite. Distribution of the maximum fiber
occurswhenthefiberdirectionparalleltothedirectionofloading.
Strengthofthecompositewillbereducedbychangingtheangle
ofthefiber,sothatthecompositewillhaveahighstrengthifthe
fiberstructureandtheforceexertedareunidirectional.However,
itsstrengthwillbeweakenedifthestructureofboththeopposite
directionorperpendicular.Matrixcompositeshavenotactually
chemicallybondwiththefillerfibersbutonlyhappensbonding
interface(bondinphysics).Therefore,inthisstudyshowedthat
forunidirectionalfibers(0/90)havethelargesttensilestrength;
thisisbecausethefiberisunidirectionalandperpendiculartothe
force exerted on the composite. Fibers are transverse to the
directionofloadingdoesnotprovidereinforcement,willactually
weaken.Itisalsoduetotheunidirectionalfibersandfibersthat
transverseorperpendicularinterfacialbondingdoesnotoccur(the
fibers)areagainsttheforceofthecomposite.Thegreaterforceis
startingtotakesomefiber(debonding)becauseofthepullforce
onthetip.

1
2
3
4
5
6

Polyester
45

70.6589

Polyester
45

79.9360

Polyester

45
Polyester 0/90
Polyester 0/90
Polyester 0/90

83.0580
75.9126
84.7086
79.1527

Epoxy

84.7081
45

Epoxy

80.1861
45

Epoxy

83.8537
45

Epoxy 0/90
Epoxy 0/90
Epoxy 0/90

117.4991
114.4567
125.7210

Thetableshowsthebendingtestresultsforthefiberglass
withpolyesterresinmatrixandfiberorientation0/90hasan
averagestressof79.92MPa.Meanwhilethepolyesterwithfiber
orientationof45hastheaveragestressof77.88MPa.Bending
test results for glass fiber with epoxy resin matrix and fiber
orientation 0 / 90 has an average stress of 119.22 MPa. The
epoxyresinandfiberorientationof45,hastheaveragestress
of82.91MPa.Figure7showstheaveragebendingtestforevery
specimen.
In the bending test, at the top of the specimen subjected to
pressure, and the bottom had traction. Failure caused by the

Figure6,Left,afracturewithfiberorientation0/90,andRight,
fracturewiththefiberorientation45.
bendingtestcompositesfracturedatthebottomofnotbeingable
towithstandtensilestress.

Becauseoftheconnectiveforcebetweenthematrixwiththese
fibers,mayalsoexplainwhythecompositefibershaveatensile
strength45smallerthanthefibercomposite0/90,thisis
because the power of connective fiber between the matriknya
weak even weaker than the bonding of atoms in matrix itself.
Consequentlywhenitgetsthereloadingshearforceonitsmatrix
whichthenseparatedfromthematrixfiberbond.
3.2BendingTest
Testingwasconductedusingafourpointbendingmethod,the
methodofmeasurementhavebeenmoreaccurateresultsthanthe
Threepointbendingmethod.Theresultofbendingtestcanbe
seeninTable2.

Table2.ComparisonbendingtestbetweenPolyesterandEpoxy
No
Spesimen
Bending
Spesimen
Bending
(Mpa)
(Mpa)

Propeller used in this experiment made of glass fiber with

epoxyresinmatrixandfiberorientation0/90.Thiscomposition
has bending test higher than other, even though the tensile
strengthislowerthanthefiberglasswithpolyesterresinmatrix
andfiberorientation0/90.Higherbendingstressgivebetter
properties to withstand dynamic load [11][12]. Propeller
especiallyusedashovercraftpropellerhavedynamicloadhigher
thanusedforwindturbine.
Figure7Diagramoftheinfluenceoftheorientationofthefibers
andthematrixofthemaximumbendingstress

BladefabricatedfromMultiWingwasusedasbenchmarkto
designnewprofilebladeusedinthisexperiment.Materialusedby
MultiWingwasalsotestedforcomparisoninthisexperiment.
Figure8showstheresultofthetensilestrength.

Author et al. / Jurnal Teknologi (Sciences & Engineering) 58 (2012) 8588

Figure 8 Diagram of the maximum tensile stress for each test

specimenandthemaximumtensilestresstothefanbladefrom
MutiWing
Figure 8 shows that the maximum tensile strength of the
specimenswashigher(exceptEpoxy45)whencomparedwith
productsfromMultiWing.MultiWingproductswiththeaxial
fanandothervarioustypesthatareusedforahovercraftaremade
from thermoplastic (glass reinforced polypropylene). The
thermoplastic material has a good flexural modulus when
comparedwithmaterialsusedinthisexperiment.

Figure9ControlPitchPropeller(CPP)machine

3.3ResultsandAnalysisofStaticandDynamicTestingFan
BladeusingControlPitchPropeller(CPP)
ControlPitchPropeller(CPP)asseeninfigure9isusedtotest
thecapacityofthefanbladeonconstantrotationwithvarying
pitchangleanddynamicmoves.CPPcontrolmechanismservesto
adjusttheangleofpitchpropeller(bladeangle)withtheaimof
producingavariationofthrust(thrust).Thismechanismtypically
usedinaircraft,ships,hovercraft,etc..Theworkingprincipleof
CPPcontrolmechanismisbysettingorchangingthepitchangle
ofthepropeller.Hydraulicisusedtopushlinkagemechanismto
changepitchangleposition.
Fanbladestrengthtestingwasdoneintwoways:statictesting
anddynamictesting.Statictestingwasconductedtodetermine
themaximumthrustoccursineverycornerofhispitch.Whilethe
dynamictestingwasconductedtodeterminetheabilityofthefan
blade withstand varied styles arising from the rotation and
movement of the fan blade pitch angle changing automatically
from 0 to 55, the number of revolutions reaches 1,000,000
roundsoruntilthefanbladebroke/broken

Thepurposeofstatictestistofindouttheoptimumpitchangle
toproducemaximumthrust.Statictestwascarriedoutwhenthe
blade was rotated at 1500 rpm for 30 minutes. Thrust was
recordedusingloadcell.Zerodegreeswassetwhentherewasno
thrustatallorloadcellindicatedtheminimumvalue.Statictest
thrustforcewasdonebyadjustingthepitchanglefrom0to55
withincrementof5oforeverycycle.Figure10showstheresultof
thrust resulted from static test. The graph shows that the
maximumthrustoccurwhenthepitchanglewassetat35o.

Author et al. / Jurnal Teknologi (Sciences & Engineering) 58 (2012) 8588

4.0CONCLUSION
Fromthetensiletestresults,hasapolyesterresinmatrixtensile
stresswhichdoesnotdiffermuchfromtheepoxyresinmatrix,the
matrixisduetofunctiononlyasanadhesivematerial(bonding).
Forbestresultscompositeshavetensilestrengthandflexural
strengthofthebestisthedirectionoffibercompositeswith0/
90.
The blade can withstand and reliable after over one million
roundsondynamictest.Nofiberpulloutaftercompletedthetest.
Furtherinvestigationisneededtotestintherealconditiondueto
environmentcondition.
Acknowledgement

.Figure10.Thrustforceforeverypitchangle,bladerotation1500
rpm.
Thepurposeofdynamictestistoinvestigatetheeffectofvaried
resultedthrusttotheperformanceofblade.Dynamictestingwas
carriedoutwhenthebladewasrotatedatconstantspeedof3000
rpm.Thebladeanglethenrotatedonitsaxialbladeaxistofind
outthezeroreferencewheretherewasnotrust.Experimentwas
carried out by adjusting the pitch angle from 0 o to 55o with
incrementof5degrees.Thebladewastwistedfrom0 oto5owhile
it rotated at 3000 rpm for 15 minutes. Thrust resulted was
measured using load cell. Physical check should be done to
investigate damage due to dynamic test after one cycle test
completed. One cycle test mean every 15 minutes running in
dynamic testfor incrementpitch angleof 5degrees, hydraulic
pushandpulladjustedrodtotwistbladefrom0 o topitchangle
requiredautomatically.Everycyclewasrepeated3timestoget
gooddata. Seconddatawastakenwhenthebladewastwisted
from0o to10o andrunninginthesamespeed3000rpmfor15
minutes.Testwasrepeateduntilthepitchanglereach55o.
Experimentsconductedover1millionroundsoruntilthereis
damagetothefanblade.Practicallyoveronemillionroundsthe
blade condition shows no damage and blade remains in good
condition.
(13)

Wewouldliketoappreciategratefulnesstotheministryofhigh
education for giving research grand. We also would like to
appreciategratefulnesstoPoliteknikNegeriSemarangespecially
departmentofmechanicalengineeringwhogiveusopportunityto
usethelaboratorytoconducttheexperiment.
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