A study on mechanical behavior and damage assessment of short bamboo fiber based polymer composites

Abstract

Now-a-days, natural fiber reinforced polymer composites are increasingly being used for varieties of engineering applications due to their many advantages. Among natural fibers, bamboo has been widely used for many such applications due to its availability. Since these composites are finding wide applications in highly dusty environment which are subjected to solid particle erosion, a study of their erosion characteristics are of vital importance. Generally solid particle erosion, a typical wear mode leads to material loss due to repeated impact of solid particles. For a composite material, its mechanical behavior and surface damage by solid particle erosion depends on many factors. Attempts have been made in this paper to explore the potential utilization of bamboo fiber in polymer matrix composites. Therefore, the present research is focused on the mechanical and erosion wear behavior of short bamboo fiber reinforced composites filled with Alumina (Al2O3) particulate. It further outlines a methodology based on Taguchi’s experimental design approach to make a parametric analysis of erosion characteristics. Finally, the morphology of eroded surfaces is examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and possible erosion mechanisms are identified.