CHAPTER I

PREFACE

I.1 BACKGROUND
Plastic waste is the most common waste that generated by human activities everyday,
therefore plastic is still a global environmental problem today. Various methods have been
applied in various country in the world, start from recycling waste, change chemicals
compositon with biodegradable materials, till the utilization of plastic waste to create useful
products or to create handycraft art. One of the most commonly found types of plastic waste
now is plastic bags, because every day people wear plastic bags for shopping activities.
Plastic bags are commonly made from LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene). LDPE is
not heat resistant, it is because LDPE is a type of thermoplastic polymer. But besides that
LDPE has a very high ductility when compared to other plastic products that are oftenly used
generally in the society. This is due to the linear chain structure of LDPE. The high ductility
of the materials that make this polymer material quite unique. Because of its high ductility,
we interseted to use LDPE as a matrix for making composite in trials of making alternative
materials for roofs.
The roof is one of the building materials that quite commonly sold in the market
because the high societys demand for building materials. The roof is generally made of clay
or concrete. Clay tend to be too brittle and concrete tend to be too heavy, therefore by
utilizing plastic bag waste made from LDPE which is ductile as a matrix and sand as its
reinforcement , it is expected to produce composite material for roof which have good
strength and ductility. Therefore, this experiment is conducted to determine the optimal
properties of the roof that made from the LDPE-Sand composite material.

I.2 Problem Formulation

1. How is the endurance of the LDPE-Sands composite material if dropped from certain
height ?
2. How much the absorbability of the LDPE-Sands composite material ?
3. How much the bending strength of the LDPE-Sands composite material ?

I.3 Experimental Purpose

1. Determine the endurance of the LDPE-Sands composite material if dropped form
certain height.
2. Determine the adsorbability of the LDPE-Sands composite material.
3. Determine the bending strength of the LDPE-Sands composite material.
 CHAPTER II

BASIC THEORY

When we conducted these experiment, there are some basic theory as the foundation of
our experiment, those are :

II. 1 +10 Mesh Silica Sand

Here are the simple thought about what the Mesh means reffering on the U.S Casting
Material Community (USCMC). -10 mesh silica sand particle would mean that all particles
would pass through a 10 mesh screen. A +10 mesh aluminum means that all the particles are
retained on a 10 mesh screen.

(AGSCO Corporation Technical Data, 2016)

U.S. Mesh Size (or U.S. Sieve Size) is defined as the number of openings in one square
inch of a screen. For example, a 36 mesh screen will have 36 openings while a 150 mesh screen
will have 150 openings. Since the size of screen (one square inch) is constant, the higher the
mesh number the smaller the screen opening and the smaller the particle that will pass through.
Generally US Mesh is measured using screens down to a 325 mesh (325 openings in one square
inch).

Sometimes the mesh size of a product in noted with either a minus (-) or plus (+) sign.
These signs indicate that the particles are either all smaller than (-) or all larger than (+) the
mesh size. For example, a product identified as -100 mesh would contain only particles that
passed through a 100 mesh screen. A +100 grade would contain particles that did not pass
through a 100 mesh screen. When a grade of product is noted with a dash or a slash is indicates
that the product has particle contained within the two mesh sizes. For example, a 30/70 or 30-
70 grade would only have particles that are smaller than 30 mesh and larger than 70 mesh.

Silica sand is granular material that contains quartz and minute amounts of coal, clay and
other minerals. It is also known as quartz sand and industrial sand, and is largely used in several
construction applications. The presence of silica sand on metal materials can be a source of
crevice corrosion on those metals.

Silica sand may also be known as silica sand abrasive when used for abrasive blasting.
Silica sand is used for a variety of industrial applications depending on the grain size,
refractories, texture and shape of the sample to be used. Applications can range from use as a
building product and abrasive, to glass making and even in hydraulic fracturing of oil wells.

Industrial sand is an essential part of the ferrous and non-ferrous foundry industry. Metal
parts ranging from engine blocks to sink faucets are cast in a sand and clay mould to produce
the external shape, and a resin bonded core that creates the desired internal shape. Silicas high
fusion point (1760C) and low rate of thermal expansion produce stable cores and moulds
compatible with all pouring temperatures and alloy systems. Its chemical purity also helps
prevent interaction with catalysts or curing rate of chemical binders. Following the casting
process, core sand can be thermally or mechanically recycled to produce new cores or moulds.

(Arifin, Kamar Shah, 2014)

II.2 Polymer Matrix Composite

Unlike a ceramic matrix composite, in which the reinforcement is used primarily to

improvethe fracture toughness, the reinforcement in a polymer matrix composite provides
strength and stiffness that are lacking in the matrix. The composite is designed so that the
mechanical loads to which the structure is subjected in service are supported by the
reinforcement. The function of the relatively weak matrix is to bond the fibers together and to
transfer loads between them, As with CMCs, the reinforcement may consist of particles,
whiskers, fibers, or fabrics, PMCs are often divided into two categories reinforced plastics, and
so-called advanced composites. The distinction is based on the level of mechanical properties
(usually strength and stiffness);however, there is no unambiguous line Separating the two.

Reinforced plastics, which are relatively inexpensive, typically consist of polyester resins
reinforced with low-stiffness glass fibers (E-glass). They have been in use for 30 to 40 years in
applications such as boat hulls, corrugated sheet, pipe, automotive panels, and sporting goods.
Advanced composites, which have been in use for only about 15 years, primarily in the
aerospace industry, consist of fiber and matrix combinations that yield superior strength and
stiffness. They are relatively expensive and typically contain a large percentage of high-
performance continuous fibers, such as high-stiffness glass (S-glass), graphite, aramid, or other
organic fibers. Thisassessment primarily focuses on market opportunities for advanced
composites. Less than percent of the material used in the reinforced plastics/PMCs industry
goes into advanced composites for use in high- technology applications such as aircraft and
aerospace.

The matrix properties determine the resistance of the PMC to most of the degradative
processes that eventually cause failure of the structure. These processes include impact
damage, delamination, water absorption, chemical attack, and high-temperature creep. Thus,
the matrix is typically the weak link in the PMC structure. The matrix phase of commercial
PMCs can be classified as either thermoset or thermoplastic.
 The PMC itself also referred as fibre reinforced plastics (FRP), the plastic is reinforced
with fibers to make a light and strong material. The material in which the fibres are embedded,
is called the matrix, while the fibres are called the reinforcement, the matrix can basically be
any type of plastic such as Epoxy, Polyester, Vinyl Ester, Polyethylene, Polypropylene. On this
experiment we use the LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) as our matrix or reinforcement.
Mainly the PMC as explained is used on Aerospace and Military aircraft application.

The use of continuous-fiber reinforcement confers a directional character, called an

isotropy, to the properties of PMCs. PMCs are strongest when stressed parallel to the direction
of the fibers (0, axial, or longitudinal, direction) and weakest when stressed perpendicular to
the fibers (90, transverse direction). In practice, most structures are subjected to complex
loads, necessitating the use of fibers oriented in several directions (e.g., 0, 45, 90). However,
PMCs are most efficiently used in applications that can take advantage of the inherent
anisotropy of the materials, as shown in When discontinuous fibers or particles are used for
reinforcement, the properties tend to be more isotropic because these reinforcements tend to be
randomly oriented, Such PMCs lack the outstanding strength of continuous-fiber PMCs, but
they can be produced more cheaply, using the technologies developed for unreinforced plastics,
such as extrusion, injection molding, and compression Sheet molding compound (SMC) is such
a material, widely used in the automotive industry.

(Advika, Banerjhee, 2013)

II. 3 Bending Test.

The bend test is a simple and inexpensive qualitative test that can be used to evaluate both the
ductility and soundness of a material. It is often used as a quality control test for butt-welded
joints, having the advantage of simplicity of both test piece and equipment.

No expensive test equipment is needed, test specimens are easily prepared and the test can, if
required, be carried out on the shop floor as a quality control test to ensure consistency in
production.

The bend test uses a coupon that is bent in three point bending to a specified angle. The outside
of the bend is extensively plastically deformed so that any defects in, or embrittlement of, the
material will be revealed by the premature failure of the coupon.

The bend test may be free formed or guided. The guided bend test is where the coupon is
wrapped around a former of a specified diameter and is the type of test specified in the welding
procedure and welder qualification specifications. For example, it may be a requirement in
ASME IX, ISO 9606 and ISO 15614 Part 1.
 CHAPTER IV
DISCUSSION

4.1 Discussion
Polymer is a large molecule or long-chain molecule material that consist of repeated
smaller subunit called mer. Polymer is the main properties of plastic bag. Even though it has
been widely used due to the its versatile properties, there are some negative effect of polymer.
It will take centuries to decompose the polymers. This experiment is executed for a better way
to recycle the polymer based plastic bags. The plastic bags has become a big threat to our
environment due to its decomposition time. Even the organic-based plastic bags has been
created, the polymer-based plastic bags is still widely used due to its economic advantages.
In this experiment we try to combine polyethylene based plastic bag with sand. The
manufacturing methods that will be used is casting. Well melt polyethylene plastic bags and
add some sand. Before we start to cast the solution, we should prepare the material first. All
polyethylene based plastic can be used in this experiment.
We will make roof based on the plastic bags waste. The plastic bags used is low density
polyethylene or LDPE. LDPE or low density polyethylene is light, has a
high ductility and impact strength as well as low friction but also Polyethylene has low
strength, hardness and rigidity (Advika, Banerjhee, 2013).
It shows strong creep under persistent force, which can be reduced by addition of short
fibers. It feels waxy when touched.
In this experiment, we melt the plastic bags in an iron-based container then add some
sand into the container and mix them. The mixture will be poured into a mold. Then let the
mixture harden itself by slowly cooling it in the open air. There is some reason for picking this
method for producing this material. The main reason is this method has the most economical
advantages due to the materials used is the plastic bags waste. The polyethylene plastic bags
has melting point of 115-135C, so it wont need much thermal energy to melt this material.
The roof will become Polymer Matrix Composite. Because, we used more polyethylene
as matrix than the sand. The percentage of the polymer and sand in the roof is 65%-70%
Polyethylene and the rest is sand. This mixtures will produce low hardness but will has high
ductility and better strength.
After we pour the mixture into the mold, let the mixture to harden itself by slowly
cooled in the open air. It will take one day for the mixture to harden itself. After the mixture is
ready, then we can give finishing process by machining the mixture into shape that we want.
After the machining we conduct some test for the roof. The test we choose is drop test,
water absorption test, and bending test. The drop test is conducted to test the survivability of
the material. The drop test is conducted in the Departement of Material Engineering, Institut
Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember. The roofs material is dropped from 25 m. The result is the
material can survive with only some scratch on the edges. The reason why the material can
survive the drop test is due to the light mass of the material that made from 65-70%
polyethylene and the strength from the sand and the polyethylene combined. It means that the
roof has high survivability than normal roof used in public.
After we conduct the drop test, then immediately conduct the water absorption test.
This test needs 24 hours to gain the result. The methods we use is let the material absorb water
for 24 hours and calculate the rate of the water absorption per hour. The data from the test can
be seen in the table 4.1 below.
Table 4.1 Water Absorption Test
Before Test After Test
Mass Surface Area Mass Surface Area Water Water
(gr) (cm2) (gr) (cm2) Absorption per Absorption per
day (l/m2) hour (ml/hm2)
24.27 53.8 25.2 53.8 0.173 7.2
From the table above we can conclude that the material is almost impermeable to water.
Because, for every meter square area per hour or hm2, the mixtures only absorb 7.2 ml. Roof
is the part of the house that will contact directly more frequently than other components due to
its primary function is to cover the human and household from the unfriendly weather.
The last test is bending test. For bending test, we made the mixtures into long beam
form to be used as bending test specimen. The beam specimen has 60 mm length, 25 mm width,
and 4 mm thick. Because of we use beam as the specimen, the equation to calculate the bending
will be :

3
= 22 ..(4.1)

= Bending Stess (Mpa)

F = Load given (N)
l = Support Span (mm)
b = Width of the beam (mm)
d = Thickness of the beam (mm)

The bending start happen after we give load 70 kg or 715.4 N and the support span 15
mm. the result from the calculation is the material can handle up to 41.92 Mpa stress before
its start to bend. This result show that the mixture is quite versatile material. It can bear more
stress than normal roof that currently used by public. The mixture is plastis material, so after it
bend, it wont back to its previous form.
The result from this experiment is that the material produced by mixing the
polyethylene and sand is versatile. The material has better strength when mixed with sand but
still has high tensile strength from the polyethylene as the matrix.
 CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND ADVICE

V.1 CONCLUSION
we conduct some test for the roof. The test we choose is drop test, water absorption test,
and bending test.
1. The roof's material is dropped from 25 m. The result is the material can survive with
some scratch on the edges.
2. conduct the water absorption test. This test needs 24 hours to gain the result. The data from
the test is
a) before test
mass : 24,27 gr
surface area : 53,8 cm2
b) after test
mass : 25.2 gr
surface area : 53,8 cm2
Water Absorption per day (l/m2) : 0.173
2) :
Water Absorption per hour (ml/hm 7.2
3. The bending start happen after we give load 70 kg or 715.4 N and the support span 15
mm. the result from the calculation is the material can handle up to 41.92 Mpa stress
before its start to bend

V.2 ADVICE
1. This experiment should be required better instumentation for better measurement of
the roof materials
2. Use testing equipment to get better result of the material testing rather than manual
testing.