Fabrication and modeling of prototype bike silencer using hybrid glass and chicken feather fiber/hydroxyapatite reinforced epoxy composites

Abstract

Recently, the significant development and advantages of bioactive natural composite materials have been employed in modern engineering constructions, aerospace, packing industries, automotive fields, and more. The fiber materials are derived from natural plant materials (e.g., coir, jute, and bamboo) and animal waste products which show excellent physico–chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties compared to man–made fibers. In this study, the replacement of man–made fiber materials with polymer matrix composites using natural waste chicken feather fiber (CFF) based reinforced lightweight epoxy hybrid composite materials were prepared for the development of a prototype bike silencer. The hybrid composites were prepared from epoxy resin reinforced with synthetic inorganic glass fibers (GF) and natural organic CFFs (with 5, 10, and 20 % composition) together with 3 % of nano–hydroxyapatite (nHA) as a catalytic filler. The 3D modeling, design, and fabrication of a prototype bike silencer were undertaken, using Suzuki Samurai as a reference model specimen. The hybrid 82 G F/15CFF/3HA composite material showed optimum tensile strength and yield strength values of 167.00 and 58.10 MPa, respectively. The observed von–Mises stress, maximum displacement, Young’s modulus, and Poisson’s ratio values were 6.9260 MPa, 0.8661 mm, 13.90 GPa, and 0.39, respectively. Further, the presence of voids in the hybrid 82 G F/15CFF/3nHA composite bike silencer showed higher absorption capacity with effective reduction of toxic CO, HC, O2, and CO2 pollutants as well as remarkable heat releasing capacity, as compared to the steel silencer. The fabricated hybrid 82 G F/15CFF/3nHA composite material may effectively be utilized for the development of renewable, eco–friendly biocomposites with exceptional performances.