Mechanical characterization and quantification of tensile, fracture and viscoelastic characteristics of wood filler reinforced epoxy composite

Abstract

To overcome the ecological concern and fiber orientation problem, lignocellulosic wood filler reinforced epoxy composite is developed using ‘micro-size’ particle reinforcement in view of its promising applicability as automobile parts and consumer goods. To identify the phase and functional groups present, the wood microfiller is characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The properties of the developed ‘specific grade’ epoxy composite are investigated in uniaxial tension mode with variable strain rate and in three-point bending mode. The linear elastic fracture mechanics is adopted to find fracture toughness and strain energy release rate at fracture initiation. The dynamic mechanical properties of the produced viscoelastic material are determined over a range of temperature. The investigations demonstrated a noticeable improvement in static and dynamic mechanical properties with the addition of micron size fillers, and properties of this developed material are comparable (or even better) with existing different wood-based composites.