PENGARUH CAMPURAN PLASTIK WASTE LDPE DAN PET BERMATRIK RESIN POLYESTER TERHADAP KEKUATAN TARIK DAN STRUKTUR MIKRO

Environmental problems are one of the problems that deserve attention, especially environmental problems caused by the increasing use of plastic in everyday life. recycling plastic waste into composites is a solution that can be used to solve this problem. Composite is a combination of two or more materials that produce different properties and characteristics from their constituents. The purpose of this study was to determine the tensile strength and microstructure of the composite with fibers from PET and LDPE plastic waste with a matrix of Polyester Resin SHCP 2668. The method used was experimental by following the ASTM D638-14 standard. The composition of the specimen was determined at 70% resin: 30% fiber, 75% resin: 25% fiber, 80% resin: 20% fiber, 85% resin: 15% fiber and using the TRIPOD brand tensile testing machine AEV type while for the micro photo test using the Metallurgical Microscope 4XC machine. Based on the test results, the highest tensile strength occurred in the composite with a composition of 85% resin: 15% fiber with a result of 10.308 〖N/mm〗^2. While the composite with a composition of 70% resin: 30% fiber has the lowest tensile strength of 5.172 〖N/mm〗^2. Meanwhile, in the micro photo test the best density was also found in specimens with a composition of 85% resin: 15% of the fibers were marked by the absence of air bubbles/voids. While the composite with the lowest density is found in the composition of 70% resin: 30% fiber is marked by the number of air bubbles / voids in the composite. Based on the test results, it can be seen that air bubbles / voids greatly affect the tensile strength of the composite, where air bubbles / voids occur due to the accumulation of too many fibers and result in the matrix not being able to bind the fibers optimally.