Study of Mechanical and Flexural properties of coconut shell ash reinforced epoxy composites

The present experimental work deals with the study of mechanical and flexural properties of coconut shell ash reinforced epoxy composites. Carbonisation method was used to prepare the coconut shell ash by heat treating the crushed coconut shell at a temperature of 600 and 800 degrees. Density, particle size and X-ray diffractometer methods were used for the characterization of coconut shell ash. Coconut shell ash epoxy composites were prepared by different filler concentration using hand lay-up technique. Specimens were cut from the fabricated laminate according to the ASTM standards for different experiments. For tensile and flexural test, samples were cut in dog-bone shape and flat bar shape respectively. It was observed that at 20 wt% of filler content, coconut shell ash which was heat treated at 800 degrees gives the best results for micro-hardness, flexural strength and tensile strength properties of the composite under consideration