Investigation into Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Ipomoea carnea Reinforced Epoxy Composite

Abstract

Ipomoea carnea, locally called as “Amari” is one such natural resource found abundantly in many parts of India, whose potential as fiber reinforcement in polymer composite has not been explored till date. Ipomoea carnea is a gregariously growing short shrub available all over the world. The plant is native of South America and was introduced in to India as an ornamental plant. Cellulose content of this shrub is over 55% and lignin content is about 17% which indicates it is a fibrous material and can be used as filler for making light weight polymer composite which provides an effective means of utilization of a large quantity of this diffuse shrub. Literature indicates that no significant work has been done on this shrub other than its stems are used for developing housing element in rural India without any pre-treatment resulting non-durable structure. Hence in this present work an attempt has been made to prepare and study the mechanical and abrasive wear behaviour of Ipomoea carnea reinforced epoxy composite, with different concentration of particulates.