Preparation and characterization of ox bone powder and bamboo fibers reinforced hybrid epoxy composites

Abstract Composite materials are one of the fastest growing when compared with metal, ceramic, and polymer due to their high specific strength, stiffness, and versatile application in various fields. This study aimed to develop an ox bone powder and bamboo fiber-reinforced hybrid epoxy composite for stock and bumper applications and investigate the effect of the reinforcements on the composite’s mechanical properties. The reinforcements used in this work were random orientations of animal bone (ox) powder of 75 microns and bamboo fiber. The matrix used for this work was epoxy resin. Composite materials were prepared using the hand layup method with a 40% weight fraction of reinforcement (bone powder and bamboo fiber) and a 60% weight fraction of epoxy resin matrix. Five different combinations of bone powder and bamboo fiber with a fixed amount of epoxy resin were used for this work. The combinations of bamboo fiber and bone powder were: 40% bamboo fiber with 0% bone powder; 30% bamboo fiber with 10% bone powder; 20% bamboo fiber with 20% bone powder; and 0% bamboo fiber with 40% bone powder. The mechanical properties studied were compressive strength, impact strength, and flexural strength. In addition, water absorption was studied for all combinations. The maximum results of the flexural and impact strengths were 278.91 MPa and 7.5 J/m, respectively, at a 0:40 (bone powder: bamboo fiber) composite. The maximum compressive strength and the lowest absorption obtained were 283.3 MPa and 1.05%, respectively, at the 40:0 (bone powder: bamboo fiber) composite. For the hybrid composite case, optimal flexural and impact strengths were 236.72 MPa and 6.66 J/m, respectively, and water absorption was 1.52% at 10:30 (bone powder: bamboo fiber). Since reasonable flexural strength, impact strength, and water absorption were obtained with the hybrid composite of 10:30 (bone powder: bamboo fiber), this combination of the hybrid composite is recommended for stock and bumper applications.