Yusuf Subagyo, Sivasubramanian Palanisamy, Sahal Ahmad Albab, Deny Fajar Fitriyana, Harianingsih, Januar Parlaungan Siregar, Nivin Joy, Karthikayan Sundararajan, Syed Kashif Ali, Aravindhan Alagarsamy, Saleh A. Alfarraj, Sulaiman Ali Alharbi, Mezigebu Belay
The utilization of water hyacinth (WH) (Eichhornia crassipes) fibers as a reinforcing material in epoxy-based matrices has been extensively documented. However, research concerning the implementation of these composites specifically for protective helmet shell development remains relatively scarce. Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate the performance of eco-friendly water hyacinth fiber-reinforced epoxy composites as a sustainable alternative material for fabricating lightweight protective helmets. The composites were fabricated using epoxy resin via vacuum bagging and subsequently subjected to tensile and impact testing. Furthermore, the best composition was utilized to develop the helmet shell, which underwent performance testing in compliance with the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) 1811:2007. The tensile test results indicated that the composites achieved a maximum ultimate tensile strength of 29 MPa, while the impact test recorded the highest impact strength of 27.6 kJ/m² for the specimen containing 10% water hyacinth powder and 30% water hyacinth fiber (A3). The helmet shell testing results revealed that among all testing parameters, only one criterion did not meet the standard requirements, namely the shock absorption performance at the rear area of the helmet shell. Despite one test condition not fully satisfying the standard criteria for helmet shell materials, the overall findings of this study demonstrate that water hyacinth (WH) natural fiber composites exhibit promising potential as a sustainable alternative material for helmet shell applications. © The Author(s) 2026.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politeknik Negeri Semarang, Semarang, 50275, Indonesia; Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Mohan Babu University, Andhra Pradesh, Tirupati, 517102, India; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Kampus Sekaran, Semarang, Gunungpati, 50229, Indonesia; Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Kampus Sekaran, Semarang, Gunungpati, 50229, Indonesia; Faculty of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA), Pahang, Malaysia; Automotive Engineering Center (AEC), Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al- Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA), Pahang, Malaysia; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Tamilnadu, Chennai, India; Department of Physical Sciences, Chemistry Division, College of Science, Jazan University, P.O. Box. 114, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia; Engineering and Technology Research Center, Jazan University, P.O. Box. 114, 82817, Jazan, Saudi Arabia; Center of Excellence Flexible Electronics, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Andhra Pradesh, Vaddeswaram, 522501, India; Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia; Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, P. O. Box.2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia; Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, Ethiopian Defence University, Bishoftu, 1041, Ethiopia
