Abstract
This work reports on the use of low-cost pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) as an alternative reinforcing material to the established, commonly used material for prosthetic socket fabrication which is carbon-fiber-reinforced composite (CFRC) due to the high strength and stiffness of carbon fiber. However, the low range of loads exerted on a typical prosthetic socket (PS) in practice sug-gests that the use of CFRC may not be appropriate because of the high material stiffness which can be detrimental to socket-limb load transfer. Additionally, the high cost of carbon fiber avails opportunities to look for an alternative material as a reinforcement for composite PS development. PALF/Methyl Methacrylate-based (MMA) composites with 0°, 45° and 90° fiber orientations were made with 5–50 v/v fiber volume fractions. The PALF/MMA composites were subjected to a three-point flexural test to determine the effect of fiber volume fraction and fiber orientation on the flex-ural properties of the composite. The results showed that 40% v/v PALF/MMA composite with 0° fiber orientation recorded the highest flexural strength (50 MPa) and stiffness (1692 MPa). Consid-ering the average load range exerted on PS, the flexural performance of the novel composite characterized in this work could be suitable for socket-limb load transfer for PS fabrication.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 3381 |
Journal | Polymers |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 19 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Oct 2021 |
Keywords
- Flexural properties
- Orientation
- Pineapple leaf fiber
- Prosthetic socket
- Volume fraction