Mechanical behaviour and empirical modelling of maize stalk nanoparticle reinforced epoxy composites

Abstract

Agricultural wastes are currently being explored as reinforcement for polymer composites due to environmental and health hazards associated with indiscriminate disposal of these wastes as well as the toxic and non-biodegradable attributes of synthetic reinforcements. This study seeks to develop and characterise maize stalk nanoparticle reinforced epoxy composites for interior panel automobile applications. Chopped Maize stalks were pulverised and ball milled for 70 hours to produce nanoparticles and characterised for microstructural and chemical properties using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Elemental Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The composites were produced using stir-cast method and varying reinforcement between 2 to 12 wt. % additions to the matrix. The developed composites were characterised for mechanical and microstructural properties. Empirical models were developed using MATLAB software for the accurate prediction of the mechanical behavior of the composites. TEM results confirm that the reinforcement was in the nanoparticle range of 32.83 – 208.09 nm. SEM/EDS analysis show fine spherical nanoparticles as well as the elemental composition of the reinforcement and enhanced interfacial adhesion of the composite, resulting in improved mechanical properties. Experimental values correlated strongly with the model with a coefficient of 0.999. Thus, the study has established the suitability of processed maize stalk nanoparticle reinforcement as a suitable engineering material for the production of polymer composites for automobile applications.