Mechanical, fatigue and DMA behaviour of high content cellulosic corn husk fibre and orange peel biochar epoxy biocomposite: A greener material for cleaner production

In this study a high toughness biocomposite cleaner production material for advanced engineering applications was developed. The prime objective of this research activity was to understand how the additions of high cellulose content corn husk fibre and sustainable orange peel biochar on static and dynamic mechanical properties of the epoxy based clear production composite material. The fibre and biochar was prepared from agriculture waste and treated prior to biocomposite preparation. The composites were prepared using hand layup process and post cured. According to the results, the composite with 2 vol% orange peel biochar along with 40 vol% of high content cellulosic corn husk fibre exhibited a highest storage modulus and the lowest loss factor. The presence of cellulose content on fibre offered high toughening effect and reduced the extreme brittleness of epoxy. In addition to this the composite has maximum mechanical properties with 166, 191 MPa of tensile and flexural strength, 6.64 J of impact toughness, 91 of shore-D hardness and 28,554 of fatigue life counts. The scanning electron microscope images revealed highly adhered fibre-epoxy matrix interface. Being high load-bearing capacity and biodegradability these composites could be a choice in the manufacturing of automobile body parts, sporting goods and aircraft.

Automated summary

This study developed a high toughness biocomposite cleaner production material for advanced engineering applications. The research focused on understanding the effect of adding high cellulose content corn husk fibre and sustainable orange peel biochar on the mechanical properties of the epoxy based clear production composite material. It was found that the composite with 2 vol% orange peel biochar and 40 vol% high content cellulosic corn husk fibre exhibited the highest storage modulus and the lowest loss factor. The presence of cellulose content in the fibre improved the toughness and reduced brittleness of the epoxy.