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This study examines the upgrading of mechanical properties in basalt fibre composites through the incorporation of microfiller. Because of their remarkable mechanical qualities and environmentally beneficial qualities, basalt fibres are becoming more and more popular in a wide range of engineering applications. However, to further expand their utility, improvements in mechanical properties like tensile strength, flexural strength, and impact resistance are essential. In this research, clamshell filler, an abundant waste material from seafood processing, is employed as a reinforcing agent in basalt fibre composites. Clamshells are found on the sea water and participate in marine ecosystems. They are derived from dead clams with no flesh in it. The research offers a solution to the disposal problem of clamshell waste by incorporating it into composite materials- a value-added product, offering both material performance benefits and sustainability. Dead clams are used to prepare the clamshell powder which is made into fine powder of 64-90 micron after cleaning and drying process. This size of micro-filler added in basalt fibre through hand layup fabrication techniques. A series of experiments and material characterization techniques are examined to know the effects of varying clamshell filler content (0, 5, 10 wt.%) on the mechanical performance of the composites. Mechanical test like tensile, flexural, microhardness and impact tests are done to evaluate the material's strength, stiffness, and resistance to external forces. The results show enhancements in the mechanical properties of basalt fibre composites with the addition of clamshell filler. The findings suggest that the utilization of clamshell filler can effectively improve the tensile and flexural strengths and hardness of the basalt fibre composites. Moreover, there is an increment of impact resistance which indicates the potential applications of composite in impact-prone industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the effect of filler material on the water absorption behaviour of glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites. The fillers are cenosphere and clamshell which are industrial waste and marine waste, respectively. The composite with six layers of fibre is prepared using the most common way of hand lay-up process. Different contents of filler, that is, 0, 10 and 20 wt.% of clamshell and cenosphere are added in the glass fibre-epoxy polymer. These are the wastes that have the potential to be an important filler in polymer matrix composite (PMC). The water absorption behaviour of the glass composites is studied and found that filler content plays a significant role in the water absorption property. The addition of both fillers improves the water resistance of the composites. The diffusion mechanism of water absorption of the present composites follows the non-Fickian type. Composites with cenosphere filler show better water resistance when compared to composites with clamshell filler. The effect of moisture absorption on the tensile strength of composites is also investigated which shows that the tensile strength of the composites is degraded after water immersion. The degradation of the tensile strength in the composite is lower in the case of saline water when compared to distilled water. Tensile strength of the composite is increased with the addition of filler and is highest in glass fibre-epoxy composite at 20 wt.% for both clamshell and cenosphere fillers. 20 wt.% of clamshell filler in the composite shows better tensile strength when compared to 20 wt.% of cenosphere in the composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drilling is one of the secondary machining techniques most frequently utilised when Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) materials are assembled into a structure. The present work examines the drilling GFRPs and analyses hole quality based on the different traditional parameters: feed rate, spindle speed, and drill tool diameter. However, the hybridization of glass fiber- reinforced polymers (GRPs) by incorporating fillers as secondary reinforcement in the present piece of research has introduced new challenges for hole drilling and achieving the desired surface finishes. The delamination at the hole entrance and exit, considering the drill diameter of the HSS twist drill (6, 8, 10 mm), feed rate (0.04, 0.08, 0.12 mm/rev), cutting speed (1000, 1200, 1400 rpm), and filler content (0, 10, 20 wt.%) in GFRP, are the major factors are considered. The fillers used are clamshell powder and cenosphere, which are marine waste and thermal power plant waste, respectively. The present paper aims to study the effect of these fillers on the drilling-induced damages to the holes in terms of delamination factor, surface roughness, and dimensional accuracy of the hole (taper error, circularity error) of GFRPs. The most widely preferred Taguchi experimental design has been used for optimising the process parameters to obtain minimum delamination, surface roughness, and hole error. The study also aims to develop a correlation between feed rate, cutting velocity, drill diameter, and filler content with the delamination factor, surface roughness, taper error, and circularity error in a GFRP material. The observed results show that clamshells filled GFRP shows lower delamination, surface roughness, circularity error, and taper error compared to cenosphere filled GFRP composites under the same process parameters. It indicates the positive impact of the fillers in the drilling of GFRP, where the main objective is to reduce drilling-induced defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, a new class of composite made up of wood apple dust (WAD) and epoxy is developed using the hand lay‐up process. The impact of WAD filler on the physical and wear characteristics of epoxy‐based composites are examined. The composite samples are prepared by varying the weight content of WAD (0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 wt%). The composites are subjected to dry sliding wear testing in accordance with the L25 Taguchi design to calculate the specific wear rate (SWR). An optimum parametric combination of control factors is established for the composites to have the least amount of wear loss. The SWR of WAD/epoxy composites is also predicted using commercial finite element method (FEM) software ANSYS 2019 R2. The experimental findings are compared with the predicted wear rates of the composites. The results revealed that addition of WAD powder improved the wear resistance of the composites. A remarkable increase in tensile, compressive and flexural strength values of 34.79%, 10.12%, and 22.66% respectively, is observed. Neat polymer has tensile, compressive and flexural strengths of 48, 82, and 22.5 MPa respectively, and the values increased to 64.7, 90.3, and 27.6 MPa with addition of 12 wt% WAD. It is further observed that out of the four control factors the most influencing control factor affecting the wear rate of the composites in decreasing order are WAD content, sliding velocity, sliding distance, and normal load. Highlights: In this study a natural fiber‐based waste, wood apple dust (WAD) is successfully used as a potential filler material in epoxy matrix.Physical and mechanical properties of the epoxy‐WAD composites are analyzed.Effects of filler contents on the wear behavior are studied using design of experiment.The wear rate of WAD/epoxy composites is predicted using finite element method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article depicts the solid particle erosion wear behavior of the coconut shell dust-filled epoxy composites. The erosion wear behavior of the composites is evaluated by a solid erosion test rig according to Taguchi's design-of-experiment approach. The experiments are carried out by both sand and Al2O3 erodent. The study shows that the inclusion of coconut shell dust improves the erosion behavior of epoxy resin. The wear behavior analysis also reveals that erodent size, angle of impingement (B), and impact velocity (C) are the most significant factors in that sequence that influence the erosion rate of the composites. Further, computational fluid dynamics analysis (CFD) is implemented to study the temperature and velocity gradient of the composites under an erosive environment. The experimental results are validated with CFD simulation results, and both values are found to be in better agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work utilises clam shell, a marine waste as filler material in a natural fibre composite.Different contents of clam shell filler of 0, 5 and 10 wt.% are considered for preparing the composite by the hand lay-up technique. The addition clamshell filler in the composite improves the tensile strength and tensile modulus by 51.40 and 63.47 % from 0 to 5 wt.% of clam shell filler, respectively. Similarly, flexural strength, flexural modulus and inter laminar shear strength of the composites show the maximum value at 5 wt.% filler addition. Beyond this value, the mechanical strength is reduced. Hardness values of the composites are increased with the increase in inclusion of the clam shell filler. In contrast, the addition of filler reduces the impact strength of the composites. Again, to determine the viscoelastic behaviour of the jute epoxy composite with the clam shell filler, dynamic mechanical analysis is performed. Storage modulus and loss modulus are found to be increasing with the increase in wt.% of filler. For all composites, the damping factor improves with the increase in temperature and obtained the highest height in the transition region. It is low below the glass transition temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present manuscript, authors have made an attempt to find the effect of aluminium powder on the electric discharge machining (EDM) of EN-19 alloy steel. Brass metal is used as electrode material to conduct the experiments. The novelty of paper lies in machining of EN-19 steel using aluminium powder mixed EDM, which is not attempted so far. During experimentation, peak current, pulse on time, gap voltage and concentration of powder are considered as input process parameters for investigating their effect on material removal rate (MRR) and tool wear rate (TWR). Using the surface response modelling, a relationship has been established among the responses and process parameters in EDM. Optimisation of the machining parameters that are responsible for the best combination of MRR and TWR are determined with the help of fuzzy-grey relational analysis. Furthermore, the Micro structural and chemical composition analysis were characterised through Scanning Electron Microscope, Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction, respectively. Abbreviations: CCD: Central Composite Design; DF: Degree of Freedom; EDM: Electrical Discharge Machining; EDS: Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy; GRA: Grey Relational Analysis; GRC: Grey Relational Coefficients; GRG: Grey Relational Grade; MRR: Material Removal Rate; MS: Mean of Squares; PMEDM: Powder Mixed Electrical Discharge Machining; RSM: Response Surface methodology; SEM: Scanning Electron Microscope; SR: Surface Roughness; SS: Sum of Squares; TEM: Transmission electron microscopy; TWR: Tool Wear Rate; XRD: X- Ray Diffraction [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, solid particle erosion (SPE) wear behavior of bamboo fiber‐reinforced epoxy composite with cenosphere filler was investigated. Cenosphere is an industrial waste of thermal power plants which is produced during burning of pulverized coals. The present composites consisting of varying weight percentage of fibers and cenosphere fillers were prepared by hand lay‐up technique. The erosion wear rates of these composites have been studied with varying impact velocities and impingement angles. The study reveals that addition of cenosphere filler to the bamboo–epoxy composite reduces its erosion wear rate. Morphologies of the eroded surface of composite samples were inspected by a scanning electron microscope to discuss the behavior of erosion wear. Both bamboo–epoxy composite with and without cenosphere filler show semiductile erosion wear behavior with maximum erosion rate at an impingement angle of 60°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]