Mechanical properties and microstructure of epoxy, horn, alkaline treated/untreated coconut shell particulate hybrid composite.
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2024
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Physical Sciences, Federal University, Dutsinma, Nigeria.
Abstract
The mechanical properties (Tensile and Flexural Strengths) of sheep horn, treated and untreated coconut shell
particles reinforced epoxy composite were investigated in this work. The composite was formulated using
design expert software, with weight fraction of epoxy resin varied from 90 to 100%, while that of each of the
sheep horn and coconut shell particles varied from 0 to 5 % weight, resulting in the composite of single and
hybrid reinforcements. The results obtained showed that tensile and flexural strengths of the hybrid composite
were superior to those of the individual fiber reinforced composite. Maximum tensile strength and flexural
strength of 36.52 MPa and 67.93 MPa respectively, representing 74.3%, and 35.6% improvement, compared
to the tensile strength and flexural strength of the control sample were obtained with the hybrid composite
sample containing a blend of 5% wt. sheep horn and 3% wt. treated coconut shell particles. The microstructure
analysis revealed the enhanced interfacial adhesion between the matrix and the reinforcement of the composite
samples containing alkaline treated coconut shell particles. Hence, alkaline treatment is a good natural fiber’s
surface modification technique to improve adhesion between the fibers and the matrix.