Processing and Characterization of Epoxy Composite with Arecanut and Casuarina Fibers

Arecanut fiber and arecanut with Casuarina fibers are reinforced with epoxy matrix and composites have been developed by manual hand lay-up technique. The effect of arecanut and Casuarina fiber on physical, mechanical and abrasive wear properties of epoxy composites was studied. The mechanical property characterization includes tensile and flexural properties as per ASTM standards. Experimental results indicate that by addition of arecanut fiber to neat epoxy its tensile and flexural strength improves. However, incorporation of Casuarina to arecanut as secondary filler results in improvement of both mechanical and tribological properties of composites. The abrasive wear test was conducted on pin-on-disc arrangement with abrasive paper as counter face. It was also found that tribological properties of filled epoxy composites were closely related with sliding conditions such as sliding distance and applied load.