Effects of particle size on the physico-mechanical properties of epoxy filled with dates palm pits (Phoenix dactylifera) particulate composites

Two particles sizes of date palm pits particulate 150 µm and 300 µm, have been used to filled epoxy to produce composites DTP/EP 1)and DTP/EP 2, respectively. The effects of particle size on properties of the resultant composites were investigated using various techniques such as mechanical test, density, hardness and water absorption capacity. Composites prepared with 150 µm filler particles size gave higher mechanical strength in comparison with composites made from 300 µm filler particles size. Reducing the filler size of DTP/EP from 300 µm to 150 µm improved the tensile strength of the DTP/EP composites at 10 wt% filler loading by 10%. The flexural strength and impact strength were improved by 1.2% and 25%, respectively, upon particles size reduction of filler from 300 µm to 150 µm at 10 wt% filler loading. The result of water absorption based on the particle sizes showed that the composites with higher particle size absorbs more than the smaller particle size which can be attributed to the fact that the smaller particle sizes are more encapsulated by the matrix resulting in lower absorption values. Thus, the size of filler plays an important role in determining the mechanical properties of filled resin composites.