HELMET SHELL USING COCONUT FIBRE (Deco-Helmet)

The main components of a helmet are the shell and foam liner. Basically, the function of the foam is to absorb most of the impact energy, while the shell is to resist penetration of any foreign object from touching the heart which can result in direct skull damage. Besides, it also functions to distribute the impact load on a wider foam area, thus increases the foam liner energy absorption capacity. Nowadays, the application of manufacturing product requires material that can provide better qualities, such as strong and safe and can be manufactured easily. In this project, epoxy resins from thermoset polymer were used as the matrix materials and natural fibres as the reinforcement and for the purpose of this research coconut fibres, a natural fibre, have been selected. In the research, the properties of the shell materials are described, and the properties of the new proposed shell material are highlighted. Helmet shells fabrication method is developed and described in detail and natural fibre shells are fabricated. Mechanical testing is performed on this composite material to determine its performance as reinforcement after coconut fibres in random type is produced. The half helmet prototype will be produced to conduct the quasi-static penetration test and dynamic penetration test or the resistance to penetration test. Dynamic penetration test has been successfully carried out at Personal Protective Equipment laboratory at SIRIM Shah Alam.