ProfCast FTUI is back with a new episode. The guest star in episode 5 this time is one of the highest EDOM owner lecturers, Prof. Dr. Ir. Asep Handaya Saputra, M.Eng. from the Department of Chemical Engineering, FTUI. This episode of ProfCast brings the topic of Composite Materials. A composite material is a material and or a group of materials made of two or more materials that remain separate and distinct while forming a single component. Composite material itself is divided into matrix and reinforcement.
In his explanation, Prof. Asep likens the human body as a composite material. “The human body is made up of flesh and bones. If the ‘meat’ is in a composite material, it will become the matrix, while the ‘bone’ will become the reinforcement. If there was only meat, it would just pile up. And vice versa, if there were only bones it would be a skull.”
This professor who graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology told about one of his researches on composite materials for magnetic insulation on MagLev (Magnetic Levitation) during his Masters-S3 education in Japan. The MagLev is a super-fast train that travels based on a magnetic field at speeds approaching 500 km/h. Because of this speed, magnetic isolation is needed to avoid erosion of the magnetic particles colliding with each other due to high speed.
Besides Maglev, Prof. Asep also researches green composites (composites made from nature) for various applications. One of them is utilizing natural fibers from the Abaca banana tree which are used for bullet-proof composite panels. The Abacá banana tree itself is famous for its fiber strength and has traditionally been used for boat ropes by fishermen or used for decoration.
Come on, watch the full ProfCast episode 5 on the UI Faculty of Engineering youtube channel at the following link: https://youtu.be/lAVgPS1uDDk
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Public Communication Bureau
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia