• Górny, Rafał
• Kloziński, Arkadiusz
• Salasinska, Kamila
• Barczewski, Mateusz

Abstract

Epoxy composites modified with ground walnut shell used as organicwaste fillers were prepared and examined. Post-agricultural waste materials aftergrinding were characterized by evaluation of grain size distribution and structureobservations realized using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The influence offiller addition on the mechanical properties of epoxy-based composites was determinedby: static tensile test, Charpy impact test, and ball indentation hardnessmeasurements. Composite samples containing 20, 30, 40, and 50 wt% of walnutshell were characterized by increased stiffness and hardness in comparison to theunmodified resins. Moreover, the incorporation of the filler resulted in a decrease ofcomposite material tensile strength and impact resistance. Thermo-mechanicalproperties of the composites were investigated by dynamic mechanical thermalanalysis (DMTA). Results obtained from DMTA tests showed a growth in thecomposites’ stiffness at elevated temperatures as a function of the increasing naturalfiller content. The material characterization was supplemented by thermal stabilityevaluation realized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It was found that theincorporation of ground walnut shell led to an improved thermal stability of compositematerials.

Topics

• grain
• grain size
• scanning electron microscopy
• strength
• composite
• hardness
• thermogravimetry
• impact test
• tensile strength
• resin