Optimization on Mechanical Properties of Egg Shell-TiO2 Reinforced Fly Ash/Epoxy Composite using Response Surface Methodology

Abstract

In this research, epoxy composites reinforced with fly ash, eggshell powder and titanium dioxide were prepared. Central composite technique was used for experimental design under the influence of two factors; amount of fly ash (10-15%wt.) and mixture amount of egg shell power and titanium dioxide (5-10 %wt.). The weight ratio of eggshell powder to titanium dioxide was fixed in 2:1. The fly ash provided from the municipal solid waste power plant in Khon Kaen province, including eggshell powder and titanium dioxide were surface pretreatment before used as the fillers. All composite materials prepared under the designed conditions were subjected to mechanical properties inspection of tensile strength, flexural strength, elastic modulus and flexural modulus. When statistical analysis was performed, a regression model for each response was obtained to analyze the results of surface response and optimum conditions for the preparation of this composite material. It was found that the optimum condition was fly ash, eggshell powder, titanium dioxide and epoxy of 10.8, 4.95, 2.47 and 81.83%wt., respectively.  This optimum condition gave the composite material with the best of tensile strength, flexural strength, elastic modulus and flexural modulus of 22.72 MPa, 43.11 MPa, 521.5 MPa and 1950 MPa, respectively. Tri-replicated experiments confirmed this condition with an error less than 10 percent.