Natural vibrations of terrace floor boards made from modern eco-composite materials

The objective of this study was to determine the natural frequency of a modern eco-composite made from a mixture of 100% recycled plastics and to compare obtained results with those reported for other materials, i.e. polyethylene and polypropylene. One type of structural support resembling a terrace floor board fixing was investigated. Moreover, the influence of board geometry (thickness, width and length) on the resonance phenomenon was investigated. The study was conducted by analytical and finite element methods in the Abaqus environment. It was found that increased board thickness led to a linear increase in natural frequency. Additionally, the tests showed that boards 20% and 30% longer than the reference dimension of 500 mm were characterized by a reduction in resonance frequencies by 30% and 49%, respectively. Results showed that board width had no effect on the natural frequencies of these recycled materials.