Modeling and Analytical Approach for Cotton/Epoxy Composite Laminates

Composites are becoming anessential part of today’s material because they offer advantagessuch as low weight, corrosion resistance, high fatigue strength; faster assembly etc. composites aregenerating curiosity and interest all over the worlds.The objective of this research is to provide the simulation methodology for natural fiber composites to predict the tensile strength using FEA tool: ANSYS APDL. For this purpose, cotton fiber as a reinforcement and epoxy resin as a matrix is selected for the analysis of composites due to theavailability of its experimental data. The model is proposed for the composite laminates with 3 layers, 5 layers and 7 layers of fiber and resin. The models are prepared as per the specimen size of ASTM D3039 standard. The failure of the composite laminates is considered for the analysis of composite as per the matrix failure criteria. The comparison of the strength is carried out for the 3 layer, 5 layer, and 7 layer laminates and signifies outcome as increase the volume fraction of fiber, the tensile strength of the composites is increasing.The proposed modeling and analytical approach may be preferred for the prediction of the tensile strength of the composite laminates.