Orientation-Engineered Sansevieria Fibers for Sustainable Prosthetic Reinforcement

Abstract

The development of sustainable materials for prosthetic applications has become increasingly important due to concerns related to environmental impact, cost, and accessibility. Natural-fiber-reinforced composites (NFRCs) offer promising alternatives to synthetic composites due to their low density, renewability, and environmentally friendly characteristics. This study investigated the potential of Sansevieria trifasciata fibers as reinforcement in vinyl ester composites for prosthetic socket applications. The fibers were mechanically extracted and treated with 5% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to improve fiber–matrix adhesion. Composites with a fiber volume fraction of 30% were fabricated using two fiber architectures: unidirectional alignment and woven configurations with weave distances of 0, 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 mm. The mechanical performance was evaluated using tensile testing (ASTM D3039) and Charpy impact testing (ASTM E23). The unidirectional composite exhibited the highest tensile strength (60.27 MPa) and Young’s modulus (78.71 GPa), indicating efficient load transfer along the fiber direction. Meanwhile, the woven composites with 2.5 mm spacing (W-2.5) showed the highest impact strength (0.093 J/mm²) due to improved energy absorption mechanisms such as crack deflection and fiber pull-out. These results demonstrate that fiber orientation significantly influences the mechanical performance of Sansevieria fiber composites, highlighting their potential as sustainable and cost-effective reinforcement materials for prosthetic socket structures.