Mechanical, wear, and dielectric properties of opuntia cladode fiber and pearl millet biochar-reinforced epoxy composite

• Published in: Biomass conversion and biorefinery Vol. 14; no. 12; pp. 13111 - 13121
• Main Authors: Jayabalakrishnan, D., Jayaseelan, V., Patil, Pravin P., Ramesh, B., Bhaskar, K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adhesive strength; Agricultural wastes; Biotechnology; Composite materials; Dielectric loss; Dielectric properties; Dielectric strength; Electric appliances; Energy; Fiber-matrix interfaces; Flexural strength; Hand lay-up; Harvesting; Impact strength; Laminates; Mechanical properties; Millet; Original Article; Parameters; Renewable and Green Energy; Short fibers; Solid wastes; Tensile strength; Wear mechanisms; Wear rate; Wear resistance; Polymer; Composites; Biochar; Dielectric; Wear; Fiber
• ISSN: 2190-6815; 2190-6823
• DOI: 10.1007/s13399-022-03555-1

In this study for diverse technical applications, a composite made of epoxy was created in using pearl millet biochar (PMB) and opuntia cladode short fiber (OCF). This study’s primary objective was to create a biocomposite from agricultural waste and assess its suitability for usage as a structural material. Both the opuntia cladode and the pearl millet husk are non-edible dry land species that are produced in large quantities as solid waste after harvesting. Thus, they were used as reinforcing material in this research. The hulls of pearl millet were slowly pyrolyzed to create biochar, and the laminates were made using a hand layup procedure. The results showed that for the composite designation, EC (epoxy + cladode short fiber) contains 30 vol.% of OCF; the mechanical parameters such as tensile strength, flexural strength, impact toughness, hardness, and adhesion strength were raised by 34.8%, 31.2%, 91.4%, 1.2%, and 5.4%. Similar to this, adding PMB at a rate of 2 vol.% improved the parameters related to load bearing and dielectric. However, the specific wear rate was observed at 0.018 mm 3 /Nm when composite designation EC contained 30 vol.% of OCF. The lowest COF and sp. wear rate for the composite containing 2.0 vol.% biochar is also observed to be 0.44 and 0.006 mm 3 /Nm, respectively. The highest dielectric constant and dielectric loss for the ECO4 (epoxy + cladode short fiber + pearl millet) composite were 7.4 and 0.68, respectively. The silane treatment reinforced the fiber-matrix interface and enhanced the interlocking mechanism, as shown by the SEM fractography. Such wear-resistant, enhanced, electrically conductive, and structurally robust composites could be used in a variety of industrial settings, including electrical appliances, spaceflight, vehicle parts, and packaging.