Erosion Wear Behaviour of Copper Slag Filled Short Bamboo Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites

Abstract

Recently, the use of natural fiber reinforced composites starts gaining popularity in engineering applications due to the fact that this material possesses characteristics that are comparable to conventional materials. Among natural fibers, bamboo has been widely used for many such applications due to its availability and low cost. Attempts have been made in this paper to explore the potential utilization of bamboo fiber in polymer matrix composites. Due to environmental regulations, new ways of utilizing various metal industry slags are being explored in order to safeguard the environment and to provide useful ways for their utilization and disposal. Copper slag is such an industrial waste which is produced as a by-product during smelting and refining of copper. Rich in various metal oxides, it has tremendous potential to be utilized as a filler material in polymer composites. Therefore, this work is focused on the erosion wear behavior of copper slag filled short bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy composites. It further outlines a methodology based on Taguchi's experimental design approach to make a parametric analysis of erosion characteristics.