Page 35 - eBook_Proceedings of the International Conference on Digital Manufacturing V1

MECHANICAL PERFORMANCE AND
STRUCTURAL FEASIBILITY OF

RECYCLED HDPE IN FURNITURE
DESIGN: EXPERIMENTAL AND
FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

Mashitoh Khalid (Universiti Malaysia Perlis), Mohamad Syafiq A.K
(Universiti Malaysia Perlis,University of Manchester)*, Mohd
Haidiezul Jamal bin Ab Hadi (Universiti Malaysia Perlis) and
Noorhafiza Muhammad (Universiti Malaysia Perlis)

ABSTRACT

The upcycling of plastic waste into functional products offers a
sustainable solution to the growing global plastic pollution crisis.
This study investigates the mechanical and structural performance
of seating fabricated from recycled high-density polyethylene
(HDPE) waste. HDPE plastic bottles were processed through
thermal compression at six different temperatures (130–155 °C),
and tensile properties were evaluated according to ASTM D638
standards. The optimum processing condition was identified at
150 °C, yielding the highest tensile strength of 20.8 MPa and
displacement of 8.83 mm. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was
subsequently employed to simulate structural performance under
typical loading conditions (68.4 kg and 100 kg), corresponding to
average and high human body weights. The stress distribution and
displacement values demonstrated that the recycled HDPE
structure maintains mechanical integrity under practical loading
scenarios, with maximum von Mises stress values are well within
safe limits. These findings suggest that recycled HDPE can be
viably utilised in lightweight structural applications, particularly
in sustainable furniture design, contributing to a circular economy
and reducing dependency on virgin materials.

19