Developing the Artificial Nest

Expectations of the Experiment

1. Hornbills can have nests without relying on tree holes, helping to protect both the great hornbill and large trees.

2. The use of more natural and environmentally friendly materials is encouraged for nest construction.

PURPOSES

To determine natural materials that can replace fossil-based materials in the creation of artificial bird nests for hornbills, specifically composite materials.

Composite materials consist of a continuous matrix and reinforcement. Materials that can be transformed into natural composites have two parts:

Reinforcement: Natural fibers
Continuous matrix: Unsaturated polyester resin including those derived from recycled PET , bio-based , etc.

Testing Methods to Determine the Natural Fiber

Wetting Test

The wetting test aims to study the absorbability of natural fibers with a binder, good wetting enhances improve the properties of the composite material.

Mechanical Test

2.1: The bending test is a materials testing method used to evaluate a material’s ability to resist bending and deformation.

2.2: An impact testing machine is used to assess the resistance of a material to rapid loads under varying weights and height conditions.

Weathering Test

The QUV durability test, also known as the QUV accelerated weathering test, is a test that is used to assess a product’s resistance to UV light, moisture, and heat.

Experimental Results

Pineapple fiber, banana fiber, sisal fiber, and water hyacinth showed good wetting properties. However, these fibers need to be woven, which complicates their use in sheet formation. In contrast, hemp sack is the most effective option, providing good properties and being more user-friendly when combined with polyester resin for making artificial nests.

The 3-point bending test revealed that different types of natural fibers displayed varying max load and flexural strength. Among the tested fibers, the composite materials made from hemp sack and pineapple fiber demonstrated greater flexural strength compared to the other fibers tested.

When fixed 2 layers of natural fibers, the following observations were made:

Pineapple fiber, sisal fiber, banana fiber, and water hyacinth demonstrated good results in terms of impact resistance, while hemp sack and jute fiber exhibited poor impact resistance. Pineapple fiber, sisal fiber, and hemp sack showed excellent results regarding flexural properties. Hemp sack demonstrated fair impact performance and the bending property results were good. As a result, hemp sack fiber was selected.

Resin Selection

Apart from the research done with conventional composite i.e. unsaturated polyester resin with natural fiber(hemp sack), other researchs intended to achieve higher level of sustainability such as composite from recycled resins, biobased resins with natural fiber are ongoing.