Effect of palmyra sprout fiber and biosilica on mechanical, wear, thermal and hydrophobic behavior of epoxy resin composite

In this study, natural fiber epoxy composites were prepared using palmyra sprout fiber and red matta rice husk ash(RHA) biosilica. This paper mainly aims to investigate the mechanical, wear resistance, thermal stability as well as water absorption behaviour of naturally obtained novel fiber with red matta biosilica in epoxy based composites. The fiber's surface was treated by base, while the biosilica particles were treated by amino-silane. The composites were fabricated by hand lay-up process and characterized based on ASTM standards. According to the results the highest tensile and flexural strength observed for the composite is about 147 MPa and 211 MPa for 3 vol. % of biosilica with 30 vol. % of fiber. Izod impact toughness reveals the maximum impact resistance up to 5.82 J. Increment in reinforcement vol. % shows increased hardness. Wear properties represents the composite designations EPB3 retains good wear resistances for 3 vol. % of biosilica. Similarly, thermal stability improved by the addition of biosilica of 3 vol. %. Water absorption results reveal that, the addition of reinforcements marginally affects the contact angle. Such mechanically improved, wear resistible and thermally stable natural composites could be used in automotives, industrial and defense applications as well as in household appliances.

Automated summary

In this study, natural fiber epoxy composites were prepared using palmyra sprout fiber and red matta rice husk ash(RHA) biosilica. The mechanical, wear resistance, thermal stability, and water absorption behavior of the obtained composites were investigated. The results showed that the addition of 3 vol.% of biosilica and 30 vol.% of fiber resulted in the highest tensile and flexural strength. The composites also exhibited improved hardness, impact resistance, and thermal stability. The water absorption was marginally affected by the addition of reinforcement. These mechanically improved, wear resistible, and thermally stable natural composites can find applications in various fields.