Synthesis and Mechanical Behavior of Ball-Milled Agro-Waste RHA and Eggshell Reinforced Composite Material

Nowadays, there are various industrial wastes from industries that produce lots of environmental pollution. Rice husk ash (RHA) is agricultural waste and eggshell waste is industrial waste. These wastes also produce lots of soil pollution. However, by utilizing these wastes, some environmental problems can be reduced. In the present investigation, an attempt was made to utilize RHA and eggshells as reinforcement material in the development of aluminum-based composite material. Carbonized eggshell ash (CESA) particles and RHA were ball-milled for 75 hours to obtain a single entity. The mixture of CESA and RHA particles has been varied from 2.5 % to 12.5 % in the development of the composite. Ball-milled reinforcement particles in the single entity showed uniform distribution in the aluminum-based matrix material. Results showed that after the heat treatment process, the tensile strength and hardness of the aluminum/5 % CESA/5 % RHA composite was found to be 189.95 MPa and 56 brinell hardness number (kgf/mm(2)) respectively. The tensile strength and hardness of the composite after heat treatment were enhanced by 31 % and 60 %, respectively. However, the toughness and ductility were reduced after adding the mixture of carbonized eggshell particles and alumina in the aluminum alloy. Corrosion loss and thermal expansion behavior were also observed to identify the carbonized eggshell and RHA addition in the aluminum alloy. Corrosion loss and thermal expansion of the AA3105/5 % eggshell powder/5 % RHA composite after heat treatment were found to be 0.011 gm and 4.35 mm(3), respectively.