Abstract
The static fracture toughness of Kenaf-Fiber-Reinforced PLA(Poly Lactic Acid) was evaluated using both actual measurement and finite element analysis. The fracture toughness of 20wt% kenaf/PLA composites was found to be about 2 times of neat PLA's value. From the FE numerical analysis results, relief of the stress concentration in the crack tip was observed, which would contribute to the fracture toughness improvement. Furthermore, from the strain energy accumulative rate, introducing kenaf fibers into PLA would reduce the total amount of strain energy in PLA, which would also contribute to the toughness improvement.
