PHYSICO-MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYMER MATRIX COMPOSITE MATERIAL REINFORCED WITH CARBONIZED CASSAVA BACK PEEL AND IRON FILLINGS

The use of natural particles as reinforcement in polymers has been a growing research area. This study aims to explore the use of cassava back peel (CCBP) and iron-fillings (IF), as reinforcement material in epoxy resin-based composite. Composite plates were prepared for the casting of the epoxy resin reinforced with CCBP and IF composites using a hand lay-up technique. The percentage compositions by weight of the CCBP varied between 0%-10 %, while that of IF was kept constant (5%). The physico-mechanical behaviours of CCBP-reinforced epoxy polymer composites were studied using ASTM standards. The density of the epoxy resin was improved by the reinforcements. The maximum density obtained was 1270 kg/cm3 for 5%CCBP epoxy composite. The percentage of water absorption improved by the addition of the filler with 5%IF10CCBP epoxy hybrid composite recording 30% water absorption. Conversely, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and breaking strength (BS) varied with the addition of the filler materials. 5%CCBP epoxy composite recorded 41.26 MPa for both UTS and BS. Meanwhile, percentage elongation decreased with the addition of the fillers showing that the composites became less ductile. The HBN of epoxy was improved with the addition of fillers. The composites can be applied to automobile dashboards.