A comparison of fabrication routes and property evaluation methods for bio-particulate filled glass-epoxy composites

This research work aims to investigate the effect of fabrication techniques on the physico-mechanical properties of pistachio shell (PS) filled glass-epoxy composites and to compare the experimental findings with numerical simulation results using finite element analysis (FEM). These hybrid composites are fabricated by vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) and hand layup (HL) techniques with fixed glass fiber fraction (20 wt. %) but different PS powder loadings of 0-30 wt. %. The composites are then characterized for physical, compositional, micro-structural and mechanical properties. The micro-structural analysis of the filler and composites is performed using electron microscopy and stereo-microscopy. To identify the phases present in both the raw filler and the composite, an x-ray diffraction test is performed. The presence of functional groups is identified with the help of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It is observed that there is a reasonable improvement in the mechanical properties of the composites with increase in PS powder content, irrespective of the fabrication process used. The density and void fraction are also greatly affected by the amount of filler particles present in the composites and also on the composite fabrication technique. The FEM analysis is also carried out using ANSYS 22.0 workbench to determine the characteristic properties numerically. The comparison of experimental and numerical results yields that the properties obtained by using VARTM results are close to experimental ones with errors lying in the range of 1%-4%. These composites can possibly find potential applications in light duty structures and wear resistant applications.Highlights Development of hybrid composites using HL and VARTM techniques. Physical and mechanical properties alter with filler loading. Evaluation of mechanical properties using finite element analysis. Validating the model by comparing experimental and numerical results. Hybrid composite fabrication routes and property comparison. image