Mechanical, fatigue and DMA behaviour of high content cellulosic corn husk fibre and orange peel biochar epoxy biocomposite: A greener material for cleaner production

In this study a high toughness biocomposite cleaner production material for advanced engineering applications was developed. The prime objective of this research activity was to understand how the additions of high cellulose content corn husk fibre and sustainable orange peel biochar on static and dynamic mechanical properties of the epoxy based clear production composite material. The fibre and biochar was prepared from agriculture waste and treated prior to biocomposite preparation. The composites were prepared using hand layup process and post cured. According to the results, the composite with 2 vol% orange peel biochar along with 40 vol% of high content cellulosic corn husk fibre exhibited a highest storage modulus and the lowest loss factor. The presence of cellulose content on fibre offered high toughening effect and reduced the extreme brittleness of epoxy. In addition to this the composite has maximum mechanical properties with 166, 191 MPa of tensile and flexural strength, 6.64 J of impact toughness, 91 of shore-D hardness and 28,554 of fatigue life counts. The scanning electron microscope images revealed highly adhered fibre-epoxy matrix interface. Being high load-bearing capacity and biodegradability these composites could be a choice in the manufacturing of automobile body parts, sporting goods and aircraft. •Cellulosic corn husk fibres were surface treated to remove lignin and retaining high content cellulosic content up to 87%.•A novel Biochar is prepared from waste orange peel and used as filler.•Tensile properties improved up to 145% for corn husk fibre and biochar particle addition.•Highest storage modulus of 6.2 GPa was achieved for corn husk fibre and biochar particle addition.•Highest fatigue life counts of 28,554 was achieved for corn husk fibre and biochar particle addition into the epoxy resin.