Investigation of Mechanical Properties of Horn Powder-Filled Epoxy Composites

Abstract

Polymeric composite materials are used in the automotive, marine, electrical, industrial, construction, house-hold appliances and sports goods fields due to their light weight, high strength, stiffness and corrosion resistance.Recently, extensive research work has been carried out on the natural fibre reinforced composite materials due to their abundant availability and low cost.Natural fibres such as kenaf, hemp, flax, jute, banana, sisal, bamboo, etc., are obtained from plants.Fibres, such as silk, feather, wool, etc., are obtained from animals.Horns are found in the heads of ox, buffalo, sheep, goat, etc. and are never branched.Horns are found in various shapes, length and curvature.These are made of a structural protein called keratin that is strong and rigid.Hard keratins have high sulphur content and are classified into two groups, α-keratin found in mammals, such as hair, horns, nails, etc. and β-keratin found in avian and reptilian tissues.Oxen horn is one of the by-products of slaughter houses.The central core of the horn turned into cylindrical form is used for manufacturing useful items.Horn chips of this process become landfill and cause environmental pollution.These chips can be used as filler for manufacturing composite materials.Epoxies are cross linked thermosetting materials, which cannot be recycled.Araldite LY 556 is medium viscosity, unmodified liquid epoxy resin based on Bisphenol-A.They are stable to chemical attacks and are excellent adherents, having slow shrinkage during curing and no emissions of volatile gases.High bonding strength and room temperature curing makes it commonly selected as a matrix material.Aradur, the hardener used with Araldite has the designation HY 951.The mixing ratio between resin and hardener is 100:10 parts by weight.Sisson has briefly summarized the structure of horn [1].Meyers et al. have discussed the structure and mechanical properties of biological materials [2].