Composites: Part B 69 (2015) 542–549

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Composites: Part B
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compositesb

Comparative evaluation between E-Glass and hemp fiber composites

application in rotorcraft interiors
Claudio Scarponi ⇑, Marco Messano
Sapienza Università di Roma, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Aerospaziale, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The present paper describes concepts and a preliminary project of a helicopter device, to investigate the
Received 20 March 2014 use of natural fiber composites for semi-structural applications, such as electronic racks. The aim of the
Received in revised form 13 September 2014 study consists on the evaluation of the substitution of the steel electronic rack, mounted on the helicopter
Accepted 16 September 2014
Eurocopter AS 350 Écureuil, with a new version, utilizing hemp fabric/epoxy composite material. This
Available online 6 October 2014
replacement will permit to have an environmental friendly product and lower disposal costs and weight.
Lower weight for helicopters and more in general for aircraft means lower fuel consumption, lower
Keywords:
pollution and costs. The new rack has been designed using structural static and dynamic analysis through
A. Glass fibers
A. Polymer–matrix composites (PMCs)
Finite Element Method (FEM). Results are promising from the structural point of view. In fact, a weight
C. Computational modeling reduction of 8.01 kg (55.6%) with respect to steel has been obtained without significantly increasing the
C. Finite element analysis (FEA) production cost. A comparison with glass fabric/epoxy composites is also provided. The results for both
Natural Fibers Composite Materials (NFCs) the composite materials are very similar, but the advantages for the environment demonstrate that is
worthy choosing natural fiber composites configuration.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction production of panels for thermal and acoustic insulation, structural

In the last decade researchers and engineers have investigated
an efficient alternative to the conventional materials used for the
manufacture of fiber-reinforced composites. Natural fibers are
today widely used in many industrial fields, such as automotive,
nautical and civil industry, thanks to some important characteris-
tics, which include:
 Complete biodegradability;
 complete renewability;
 low production cost;
 low carbon footprint;
 high specific mechanical properties;
 good acoustic and thermal properties.
Some examples of hemp applications in the automotive field [1]
are the interiors of Lotus Eco Elise [2] and Mercedes-Benz A-Class
Coupè [3]. Moreover a recent project of ‘‘Sapienza’’ University of
Rome in development phase named ‘‘SeaLab’’ contemplates the
use of hemp for the cover of an advanced aquatic drone [4]. In
the civil construction industry, hemp is normally used for the
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: Claudio.scarponi@uniroma1.it (C. Scarponi).
reinforcements and bio-bricks [5].
However, natural fiber composites (NFCs) show some inconve-
nient, such as low reproducibility, weak fiber–matrix interface and
flammability. These problems hinder especially the design of semi-
structural parts in natural fiber reinforced composites for the aero-
space industry.
No applications of such materials in aeronautics are described
in the scientific literature. Research by Scarponi et al. [6] has been
recently published concerning the design of a NACA cowling in
hemp fabric reinforced epoxy composite, to be installed on an
advanced ultra light aircraft. Airworthiness Certification is not
required for this typology of aircraft [7]. It is well known that air-
worthiness certification process is heavy in terms of costs and
time; this is the reason why the application of new materials in
the field of aircrafts parts production is so complex and difficult.
In the present paper, hemp fibers have been chosen among
other available vegetable fibers, such as flax or jute, in consider-
ation of the recent reintroduction of hemp cultivation in some Ital-
ian regions (Piedmont [8], Tuscany [9], Umbria [10], Apulia [11]).
The aim of the present paper is to verify the suitability of NFCs
to be used for rotorcraft interiors and similar applications in the
field of certified aviation. So, the paper describes the preliminary
project, developed to replace a helicopter internal rack containing
electronic devices for television video streaming. The project is

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2014.09.010
1359-8368/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 C. Scarponi, M. Messano / Composites: Part B 69 (2015) 542–549
applicable to the rotorcrafts Eurocopter AS 350 Écureuil and AS 355
Écureuil II (Fig. 1).
The old rack was manufactured using extruded steel bars with
‘‘L’’ section (30 mm  30 mm  3 mm thickness). Each bar was
welded to obtain parallelepiped edges. The geometrical sizes are:
 523 mm on longitudinal aircraft axis (x-axis);
 535 mm on lateral aircraft axis (y-axis);
 900 mm on vertical aircraft axis (z-axis).
AISI 4130 steel was used for the entire design. The rack, located
in the helicopter crew cabin after the removal of backside passen-
ger seats, weighs 14.4 kg and it is fixed to the floor by an interme-
diate plate. Four dampers are set up to smooth the vibrations
(Fig. 2). Nine electronic devices are fitted to the rack (Table A1,
Appendix A), each one of them being joined to it as a cantilever
with four screws (ISO M8 A2-70).
2. The new design
The new rack is designed as a box (Fig. 3) with the same geo-
metrical size. It requires open surfaces on forward and rear edges.
The electronic devices are fitted on the box front, each one being
connected to the structure through 4 screws. The forward hole is
required to ensure device ventilation and cable setting up. On
the bottom there are 4 aluminum alloy (Al 7075 – T6) triangular
elements, where the rack is fitted to the dumpers.
3. Materials
With the exception of the triangular elements, the rack is
entirely conceived to be realized using composite materials, more
in particular NFCs and glass fiber composites, as a matter of com-
parison. In Fig. 4 is represented the hemp plain weave fabric man-
ufactured in Italy (Linificio – Canapificio Nazionale S.p.a.); the cost
is only 8 €/m2 [12] for a small quantity (10 kg). Some physical and
mechanical properties are described in Table A2, Appendix A.
The matrix is the bi-component epoxy resin Hexion L-285
(hardener H-285), widely used in aeronautics, such as gliders and
small airplanes [13]. It shows very good features as mechanical
and thermal properties and a wide operating temperature range
(Table A2).
Fig. 1. Eurocopter AS 350 Écureuil view with dimensions.
543
The fiberglass material selected to be considered for the design
is an E-Glass balanced woven roving, embedded with the epoxy
resin SP System Ampreg 26, described in Table A3 in Appendix A.
The experimental data and the parameters to be used in the code
are reported in Ref. [6].
3.1. Stacking sequence
The final configuration is a quasi-isotropic, 8 plies symmetric
laminate, in consideration of the fact that no prevalent directional
load is present for the structure. The following notation has been
utilized for the description of the sequence:
 0° for a ply with 0°/90° fibers.
 45° for a ply rotated by 45° (±45).
The lamination sequence is [0/45/0/45]sym.
The configuration of the fiberglass stacking sequence is a 4 plies
[0/45]sym symmetric laminate. The features of the composite lam-
inates [6] are reported in Table A4, Appendix A. The laminates con-
sidered have different thickness. The rationale for this choice is
that the fiberglass presents better mechanic properties than hemp
laminate, so that a minor thickness still ensures strength to exter-
nal loads, though with different (lower) safety margins, as it will be
shown in the results analysis.
3.2. Fabrication process
The new rack is conceived as an assembly of four parts:
 Two lateral parts.
 One base (at the bottom).
 One cover (on the top).
Each segment is built as a plate having all outer edges 90°, bent
for 20 mm; such a solution allows easing the final assembly of the
structure. The complete description of the fabrication process is
out of the limit of the present paper, so only the fabrication con-
cept can be considered here. For instance, any single part can be
fabricated in an easy way, such as vacuum bag technique and cur-
ing process in furnace. In case of this choice, the sequence could be
shortly described by the following steps:
544 C. Scarponi, M. Messano / Composites: Part B 69 (2015) 542–549

Fig. 2. Rack in steel bars, front and back side.

Fig. 4. Hemp woven fabric before hand-layup process.

4. FEM model
Fig. 3. Rack 3D FEM model, PATRAN (MSC Software).
PATRAN and NASTRAN (MSC Software) have been utilized (Sol
 Plies cutting 101 linear static and Sol 103 for normal modes) [15]. All the details
 Matrix preparation: the resin Hexion L-285 must be mixed are reported in Appendix B.
with the hardener H-285 with 100:40 parts by weight The FAR 27 standards [16] establish that each element in cabin
mix ratio. must resist to specific inertial load, listed in Table 1.
 Hand lay-up process and vacuum bag: classical procedure in A safety factor k = 1.5 must be applied to all structure [17] and a
clean room over a female mold made in epoxy resin. fitting factor kf = 1.15 must be applied only to shear forces having
 Curing: in furnace (see materials data sheet described in effect on screws strength [18].
Table A4, Appendix A). The used Nastran FEM code requires the choice of an opportune
 NDI and rack assembly: visual inspection, ultrasonic control, safety margin. The best solution for isotropic materials is the well
drilling, bonding of parts. known Von Mises failure criterion, while for the composite struc-
tures the Hoffman criterion has been chosen. The criterion takes
The described fabrication technique has been used in the past in account stresses and strengths of all the laminate plies and is
[6] in order to obtain the specimens for the measurement of the described as following:
mechanical parameters used for the present analysis. However,
r21 r22 r1 r2 Xc - Xt Y -Y s2
excellent results were obtained elsewhere using Resin Transfer þ  r1 þ c t r2 þ 122 6 1 ð1Þ
Moulding (RTM) [14]. Xc Xt Y cY t XcXt XcXt YcYt S
 C. Scarponi, M. Messano / Composites: Part B 69 (2015) 542–549 545

Table 1 Table 3
Static load applied. NASTRAN output for natural fibers composite.

Loads NASTRAN Output (composites)

Aircraft axis Positive load (g) Negative load (g) Load case Fibers material Value Value  k
X 4 1 +4g X Hemp 0.587 0.881
Y 2 2 E-Glass 0.662 0.993
Z 4 1
1g X Hemp 0.444 0.666
E-Glass 0.043 0.065
where ±2g Y Hemp 0.037 0.056
 X c X t are respectively the ultimate compression and tensile E-Glass 0.201 0.302
strength in fibers direction; +4g Z Hemp 0.266 0.399
 Y c Y t are respectively the ultimate compression and tensile E-Glass 0.322 0.483
strength in orthogonal direction of fibers; 1g Z Hemp 0.024 0.036
 S is the ultimate strength for shear stress; E-Glass 0.023 0.035
 r1, r2 and s12 feature the status of stress for any single ply.
between the two weights is only 0.3 kg (about 4.7%), but if we con-
The condition (1) must be valid for each ply of composite sider that for the hemp calculation very conservative values has
laminates. been used for the Nastran Code and the volume fraction of the resin
The strength data used for both the criteria are listed in Table 2 is 0.48 for fiberglass against 0.43 for hemp, the weights of the two
[6]. It is worthy pointing out that the strength values in X–Y axis composites are very close or more or less in practice are the same.
are the same, because both hemp and E-Glass fabrics are balanced The weight savings in comparison with the steel solution are
plain weave fabrics. respectively 8 kg for hemp (about 55.6%) and 8.3 kg for fiberglass
(about 57.6%).
For the triangle-shape elements, Von Mises’ stress rv is shown
5. Results
in Table 4. No critical points are present.
For the screws, Saint–Venant’s theory was applied: in particu-
5.1. Static analysis results
lar, NASTRAN returns as output forces, bending and torque
moments for each screw. A Matlab script was implemented for this
The NASTRAN outputs for laminate elements are listed in
target: a maximum Von Mises stress was about 287 MPa, to be
Table 3.
increased to 330 MPa in consideration of the factor k.
In the first column are reported the acceleration factor deter-
mined by the Aeronautical Authority standards; in the third and
5.2. Dynamic analysis
fourth columns are reported respectively the Hoffman criterion
security factor values (maximum value 1) for each configuration
The FAR 27 standards establish that each element must be safe
and the same values multiplied for the factor k (also reported on
in case of vibrations [20]. The AS 350s and AS 355s rotors produce
the same calculation standards) [19].
alternating forces that excite the rack system. The frequencies of
The choice of different thicknesses for the two different
rotors are listed in Table 5:
materials is correct; both the structures are well dimensioned for
The NASTRANs Outputs (modes and frequencies) are reported in
all the load cases. Both of them respect the Hoffmann limit with
Table 6 and in Fig. 6. In consideration of the 4 dumpers, the best prac-
reasonable margins of safety. Only in the worst load case, corre-
tice suggests to respect a gap of ±2 Hz between calculated natural
sponding to 4 g on X-axis, where the bending moment creates high
frequencies and alternating forces. Only the results of the first five
level of stress in the rear part of the rack (Fig. 5) the margin of
frequencies can be taken in account, because of the high level of
safety is very low (0.004) for fiberglass configuration, much lower
numerical errors for the evaluation of highest frequencies. This is
respect to hemp laminates (0.119).
the reason why the alternating forces produced by the tail rotor have
The weights are estimated approximately to 6.4 kg for the hemp
been excluded. In these conditions, the rack should work in safety.
fibers model and 6.1 kg for the fiberglass model. The difference
In consideration that only the first 5 modes are usually consid-
ered, the work conditions are satisfied.
Table 2
Failure criterions value.
6. Economic and environmental evaluations
Hoffman criteria strength data
Hemp fibers composite* Fiberglass composites The Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a methodological approach for
Entry Value (MPa) Entry Value (MPa) the analysis of the environmental impact of a product, considering
Xt 94 Xt 400 it in its whole life. That implies:
Xc 91 Xc 390
Yt 94 Yt 400 1. Acquisition of raw materials: includes all the operations of
Yc 91 Yc 390 extraction from the environment and recovery of raw
Sxy 36 Sxy 64 materials and energetic sources.
Sxz ¼ Syz 32.5 Sxz ¼ Syz 57.5 2. Production: includes all the operation of transformation of
Von Mises raw materials that are composed of three phases, manufac-
Material ry (MPa) ture of the base material, production of the final product,
distribution.
Al 7075 503
AISI 304 480
3. Use/maintenance: it starts after the distribution of the prod-
*
uct and includes both the use and every operation with
The experimental data utilized in the present paper are conservative respect to
which the product is maintained or treated for lengthening
the usual data available in the scientific literature, but experimentally observed by
the authors its life.
546 C. Scarponi, M. Messano / Composites: Part B 69 (2015) 542–549

Fig. 5. Hoffman value allocation in the rear.

Table 4
NASTRAN output for triangle-shape elements.

NASTRAN output (Al 7075-T6)

Load case Model rv (MPa) rv k
ry

+4g X Hemp 122 0.364

E-Glass 131 0.391
1g X Hemp 95 0.284
E-Glass 45 0.134
±2g Y Hemp 31 0.093
E-Glass 98 0.292
+4g Z Hemp 84 0.250
E-Glass 127 0.379
1g Z Hemp 21 0.064
E-Glass 32 0.095

Table 5
Alternating forces frequency for AS 350 and AS 355.

External alternating forces

Description Frequency (Hz)
Principal rotor 6.5
Principal rotor 19.5 Fig. 6. 1st Normal mode.
Tail rotor 34.5
Tail rotor 69

4. Recycle/disposal: it starts at the end of the operative life and

includes the operations for introducing it in new economi-
Table 6 cal operations (recycling) or disposing of it and introducing
NASTRAN result for dynamic analysis. it into the environment [20].
Dynamic analysis results
A complete LCA analysis is out of the limits of the present paper.
Hemp model E-Glass model
Nevertheless, with reference to some data available by a research
Mode N. Frequency (Hz) Combination Frequency (Hz) Combination of Joshi et al. [21] for similar natural fibers, some data about the
1 3.21 No 3.31 No environmental impact and costs are reported in Tables 7 and 8.
2 3.24 No 3.48 No The comparison among the solutions can be described as
3 10.93 No 11.30 No
follows:
4 14.35 No 14.63 No
5 16.35 No 14.66 No
6 16.90 No 14.93 No 1. Both the composite materials applications show a better
7 17.33 No 17.70 No behavior in terms of weights and environmental impact;
8 18.30 Minimal 18.33 Minimal 2. the E-glass composite is thinner, more economic both for
9 18.47 Minimal 20.06 Yes
10 21.94 No 21.23 No
process (only 4 plies are required) and weight. Nevertheless,
the cost of hemp strongly depends on the present low
 C. Scarponi, M. Messano / Composites: Part B 69 (2015) 542–549 547

Table 7 Table A1
Environmental impact data of racks. List of electronic devices: device n.1 on the bottom of rack, device n.9 on the top.

Value China reed fibers E-Glass fibers Steel Device Screws Weight (kg)
Total weight (kg) 6.40 6.1 14.4 1 (Bottom) 4 9
Composite weight (kg) 6.06 5.76 – 2 4 1
Fibers weight (kg) 3.88 3.71 – 3 4 10.5
Energy use (MJ) 14.12 176.54 442.94 4 4 10.5
CO2 emissions (kg) 2.56 7.48 37.67 5 4 8
CO emissions (g) 1.71 2.95 459.36 6 4 8
SOx emissions (g) 4.77 32.38 46.37 7 4 2
NOx emissions (g) 4.15 11.46 47.66 8 4 1
Particulate matter (g) 931.20 3712.80 – 9 (Top) 4 3

Table A2
Table 8 Hemp woven and Hexion L-285 features.
Materials cost. Feature Quantity Unit
Value Hemp rack E-Glass rack Hemp woven
Woven price (€/m2) 8 6 Areal Weight 244 g/m2
Matrix price (€/kg) 7 7 Young’s Modulus 52 GPa
Total area (m2) 1.6 1.6 Shear Modulus 20 GPa
Woven area (m2) 12.8 6.44 Density 1480 kg/m3
Matrix weight (kg) 2.18 1.92 Range
Woven cost (€) 102.4 48.64
Hexion L-285 Resin
Matrix cost (€) 15.26 13.45
Density 1180–1200 kg/m3
Total cost (€) 117.66 62.09
Young’s Modulus 3.0–3.3 GPa
Tensile Strength 70–80 MPa
Compressive Strength 120–140 MPa
Elongation at Break 5.0–6.5 –
Operational temperature 60 to +50 °C
amount of production, so the cost could be considerably 60 to +80a
reduced in case of higher production level in the near future; a
After heat treatment.
3. the E-glass is very close to the Hoffman limit, so the margin
of safety is negligible.
Table A3
E-Glass woven and SP System Ampreg 26 Resin.
7. Conclusions
Feature Quantity Unit

Two different configurations for composite materials applica- Glass woven

tions have been considered for the substitution of a helicopter steel Areal weight 400 g/m2
Young’s modulus 70 GPa
electronic rack, maintaining structural configuration and techno-
Shear modulus 29.2 GPa
logical process, but changing fibers (hemp against glass) and con- Density 2350 kg/m3
sequently the stacking sequence. Both composite structures show SP System Ampreg 26 Resin
a lower weight (respectively 55.6% and 57.6% for hemp and glass) Density 1160 kg/m3
than it is the case for steel. Young’s modulus 3.75 GPa
Both static and dynamic FEM analysis have been performed in Tensile strength 58.3 MPa
Shear modulus 1.44 GPa
order to evaluate the substitution of a steel electronic rack for heli-
Elongation at break 1.8 –
copter by the use of composite materials.
The evaluated weight differences between the two composites
are 0.3 kg, but the difference is so low only because of the higher Table A4
Laminates features.
resin volume fraction for fiberglass and the conservative values uti-
lized for hemp in calculations. The material cost is very similar, also Feature Quantity Unit
in consideration that the cost strongly depends of the production Hemp fibers composite
amount, which is much lower for hemp. Lower weight means to save Plies 8 –
more or less 4.000 USD in equivalent fuel along the helicopter life. Total thickness 2.4 mm
The choice of hemp is suggested because of the better environ- Density 1316.6 kg/m3
E1 = E2 7.6 GPa
mental behavior. The advantage of the choice of NFCs application is E3 5.2 GPa
evident, in terms of footprint and other elements of pollution, both V12 0.3 –
for fiberglass than for steel. G12 2.5 GPa
Of course the use of NFCs in certified aeronautics interiors could Fiber volume fraction 0.57 –
Matrix volume fraction 0.43 –
be proposed in case of a confirmation of the present results and in
case of success of other specific tests, such as durability and smoke Fiberglass composite
Plies 4 –
and fire behavior.
Total thickness 1.44 mm
Density 1707 kg/m3
E1 = E2 17.8 GPa
Appendix A E3 13.7 GPa
V12 0.3 –
In Appendix A, as follows, the different parts of the device G12 5.3 GPa
Fiber volume fraction 0.52 –
together with the characteristics of the materials used for model-
Matrix volume fraction 0.48 –
ing, are exposed (see Tables A1–A5).
548 C. Scarponi, M. Messano / Composites: Part B 69 (2015) 542–549

Table A5
Gel time for Hexion L-285 and Hardeners H-285, H-286, H-287.

Cure temperatures Resin L285 Resin L285 Resin L285

Hardener 285 Hardener 285 Hardener 285
20–25 °C (68–77°F) 2–3 h 3–4 h 5–6 h
40–45 °C (104–113°F) 45–60 min 60–90 min 80–120 min

Appendix B

In Appendix B, the structure of the model is represented, as

follows.

Table B1
Al 7075-T6, AISI 304 and Dumpers Features.

Feature Quantity Unit

i
E 71.09 GPa
v 0.33 –
G 29.6 GPa
q 2810 kg/m3
Min quantity
Fig. 7. Overview of rack FEM model.
AISI 304
E 199.70 GPa
v 0.27 –
G 86 GPa
q 7906 kg/m3
The final model (Fig. 7) is almost entirely built with planar ele-
Dumper properties
ments CQUAD4 [22], but 1D and 0D elements are used as well. The
K 150,000 N/m
c 661.08 kg/s composite parts are simulated with the PCOMP [23] property.
Height 50 mm PSHELL [24] property is used for the triangle-shape elements in
aluminum alloy (5 mm thickness) and a 15 mm superimposition
zone on the bottom of laminate (Fig. 8). The electronic devices
Table B2 are simulated with 0D mass elements, fit in their center of gravity.
FEM model abstract.
Every mass is connected (RBE2 link – rigid type [25]) with four 1D
FEM model elements, which represent the screws core. Those elements have a
Entry name Number of entries Description circular section with 3.2 mm radius (Fig. 9). The dumpers [26] are
simulated with CBUSH elements (Fig. 10). In Table B1 are listed the
CQUAD 4 4731 Planar elements
CBAR 36 1D elements (screws) properties for Al-7075 T6 (triangular elements), AISI 304 (screws)
CBUSH 4 1D elements (Dumpers) and CBUSH (dumpers [27]). In Table B2 a summary of FEM model
CONM2 9 0D elements (devices) is given.
NODES 4975 –

Fig. 8. Thickness range.

 C. Scarponi, M. Messano / Composites: Part B 69 (2015) 542–549 549

Fig. 9. Particular of screws core and RBE2 link.

Fig. 10. Particular of dumper.

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