The Use of Used Cloth as a Vessel Primary Composite Material

Abstract

Composite are generally made out of two or more different materials that being combined to form a single structure with an identifiable interface. Fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials are the most preferred materials for construction of vessel. This research aims to create a vessel (small boat) by using natural composite, namely satin and cotton fibres as a primary material. The fibres were originated from used cloth. The main reason using this materials is easy to obtain and inexpensive. The toughness of the materials was tested by using bending and impact tests. Results of the t-test shown that the tougness of the used-cloth fibers was not significantly different with that of the BKI standart and it is suitable for vessel material, especially for small boat. The best result was obtained in the satin fibers, with 13,39 Mpa for bending test, while that of the cotton fibers was 6,58 MPa. As well as the bending test, the impact test result also shown that the satin fibers is better than that of the cotton ( 1,88 MPa for satin fibers and 0,88 MPa for cotton fibers).