Applied hybrid pultruded profiles reinforced with kenaf and glass fibres for ladder

This thesis explores the development and evaluation of hybrid pultruded profiles for structural ladder applications, incorporating plant and glass fibres. Existing ladder materials, such as fibreglass and aluminum, present challenges related to sustainability, cost-effectiveness, health risks, heavyweight, and electrical conductivity. Moreover, there exists a gap in research regarding the utilization of plant fibres for structural applications. Therefore, there is a pressing need to explore the development of plant/glass hybrid pultruded profiles to address these issues. Incorporating plant fibres into hybrid pultruded profiles will yield mechanical properties comparable to to conventional fibreglass profiles, while reducing material costs and weight, and meeting industry standards for structural integrity and sustainability. Beginning with an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis, kenaf fibre was identified as suitable plant fibre. The fabrication process involved hand lay-up, compression molding, and pultrusion methods to create sandwich structured hybrid composites. Mechanical testing revealed favorable characteristics for the woven kenaf/glass roving hybrid sequences, particularly the WK/UG alternate configuration, showing promising tensile (404.54 MPa), compressive (417.15 MPa), bending (456.33 MPa), and interlaminar shear (34.90 MPa) strengths. Further investigation into durability demonstrated good fatigue responses (18,630 cycles at 60% ultimate tensile strength, UTS), impact strengths (260 kJ/m2), and specific strengths (2.719 × 105 Nm/kg) for the WK/UG alternate configurations. Integration of kenaf fibres also resulted in significant raw material cost reductions (35.7–50%) and weight reductions (9.6–19.1%) in the pultruded profiles. To showcase practical viability, these profiles were utilized in constructing a single-pole structural ladder exceeding ANSI 14.5 standards in multiple performance tests. This highlights their potential for special-duty ladders with substantial working capacities up to 170.1 kg of working load. Overall, the study establishes the potential of kenaf/glass reinforced hybrid pultruded profiles for diverse industries, contributing valuable insights into mechanical attributes and economic benefits while fostering sustainable and resilient structural solutions.

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