Lontar borassus flabellifer fiber composite: Energy dissipation and thermal response under dynamic tensile testing

The energy dissipation mechanism understanding of Lontar fiber composites was essential to overcome the limitations of its composite. This study aims to determine the energy dissipation of Lontar (Borassus Flabellifer) fiber composite under tensile (dynamic) testing and validate it by the thermal response. The tensile test was carried out in two phases, under static load to determine the value of Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS), and under dynamic loads to obtain hysteresis curve of each loading-unloading loop, while a thermocouple was used to record temperature evolution on specimen surface around the hole area. This study showed that the highest energy dissipation at the 80% loading level by mean of 0.215309063 J/cm3, while the lowest dissipation energy is at the 20% loading level by mean of 0.001430625 J/cm3. The amount of dissipation energy at each loading level would affect the mechanical strength and each type of damage propagation that occurs in the composite specimen. The hysteresis loop area must be significantly enlarged before the final damage occurs, indicating more energy absorbed before the damage finally occurs. The relationship between energy dissipation and temperature changes through thermocouples can be caused by energy dissipation from materials that might cause microscopic damage.