JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #88 - April 2014 - Special JEC Americas Spring Edition - 13

Fig. 1: Example of meshed model with loads and constraints applied: hood
and side shields in closed position

Fig. 2: Final FEA of composite biofibre tractor components showing displacement

fan shroud of the tractor. The
parts are manufactured using
lite resin transfer moulding
(Lite-RTM) infusion with a
thermoset resin. This project
initiated activities for new
product development for
the Versatile tractor line and
included scientific development for state-of-the-art
biofibre composite materials
and manufacturing processes.
The project began with material characterization of the
hemp-agave fibre mat. The
material was formed into test
laminates of infused hempagave fibres. Samples were
sent to a testing lab for mechanical testing. Tensile, flexural, compression and shear

properties were obtained.
These properties were implemented into the material
specification as part of the finite element analysis (FEA),
which was conducted for the
various tractor components
and involved different laminate schedules, depending on
the loading conditions and
constraints imposed on the
parts. The components that
were analysed included the
tractor hood and side shields,
rear fenders, cross-over
fender and fan shroud. The
existing fibreglass hand-layup
version was compared to the
hemp-agave biofibre laminate
for all components.
Various load cases were ap-

plied to the components, depending on their real-loading
conditions. In the case of the
hood, both open and closed
positions were considered as
loading cases, as well as the
transitional case of closing
the hood from the open to
closed position with added
force. In the closed case, an
exaggerated 2G force was
applied to simulate a bump
load. Different spring forces
were applied to the hood for
both open and closed loading
scenarios. Figure 1 shows an
example of the hood model
prepared for FEA with loads
and constraints applied.
Based on the FEA results,
laminate schedules for the
biofibre parts were determined. Each component has
a slightly different laminate
schedule to meet specific
performance requirements.
However, every component
was composed of the hempagave biofibre mat with some
fibreglass reinforcement. In
the case of the hood, a cork
core was selected for the biofibre part. Figure 2 shows the
FEA results for the biofibre
components, with red zones
indicating the greatest deflection (mm) and blue the least.
The images are exaggerated

to show the effect of the loads
on the parts. However, in reality, the parts only deflect a
few millimetres. For instance,
the maximum deflection of
the cross-over fender is 3.3
mm; the fan shroud is 4.4
mm; the hood-side shields is
2.1 mm and the rear fenders
is 0.9 mm.

Manufacturing methods
Additional development
activities included determining optimum manufacturing methods for successful
infusion of the biofibre
material by including the
coarser agave fibre, which
allows for improved resin
flow. Material hybridization
options were also developed,
which included the addition
of fibreglass in the laminate
schedule for added strength,
and core material for additional reinforcement. Further to
this, new tooling was developed to specifically support
the biofibre parts for future
industry uptake. The completed parts were mounted
on a test tractor and sent for
field testing during the fall
harvest in Manitoba, as well
as to Arizona, to determine
the performance of the
biofibre parts in real working
conditions. Furthermore, a

Fig. 3: Final components mounted on the tractor

No88 April 2014

/ jec composites magazine 13
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #88 - April 2014 - Special JEC Americas Spring Edition

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