Optimization of Bamboo Fibre Reinforcement in Green Composites using Response Surface Methodology

Abstract

At present, materials obtained from nature are adopted with high priority due to exploitation of natural resources of the materials. This work is focused on the use of natural fibre with nano-silica as reinforcement in epoxy resin as a matrix. The polymer composites were developed by mixing an appropriate amount of nano SiO2 with bamboo fibres. After composite fabrication, specimens of standard size were prepared, and tests related to mechanical properties were performed. 32H composites performed best in the tensile test. The flexural test value for 32G composite was the highest. We found that the 32H composite had better energy absorption capacity. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to find the optimum composition of composites, and the effects of fibre and nano-SiO2 on their mechanical properties were investigated. A central composite design was employed to analyse the composite properties. A second order polynomial model was used for predicting strength of the composites. It has been found that the composite was best fit by a quadratic regression model with an excessive co-efficient to determine the R2 value. Effects of bamboo fibre and nano-SiO2 were examined using analysis of variance (ANOVA).Experiment found that two-layer natural bamboo fibre with 2 wt.% of silica is of high quality. Nano composites of fabricated natural fibre reinforced polymer has numerous uses in automotive, aircraft, aerospace, sporting, structural, and home appliance industries.