International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056 Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | Aug -2017 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072 © 2017, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 5.181 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 2017 Comparative Study on Mechanical Properties of Tamarind Shell and Groundnut Shell Particles Reinforced Epoxy Composite Santosh A. Goudar 1 , Vidyasagar Shetty 2 1 Assistant Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, KLE College of Engg. & Technology, Chikodi-591201, Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Belagavi, Karnataka, India 2 Assistant Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, NMAM Institute of Technology, Nitte-574110 and Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Belagavi, Karnataka, India ---------------------------------------------------------------------***------------------------------------------------------------------- Abstract - Every year large quantity of agriculture wastes like coconut coir, tamarind shell, groundnut shell, peanut shell are disposed due to lack of uses for these materials. Also a step forwarded to use the agricultural waste technically and enhance the properties of several existing material which can be more useful and can have advanced properties than the existing form. This paper explores the potential of tamarind shell particles and groundnut shell particles as a fibre in epoxy composites. The both tamarind shell particles and groundnut shell particles reinforced epoxy composites were prepared by considering the certain volume percentage for both composites i.e. 60% fibre and 40% resin. The mechanical properties such as tensile strength, bending strength and hardness are evaluated for both the composites and compare the same. Key Words: Agriculture wastes, tamarind shell, groundnut shell, Epoxy composites 1. INTRODUCTION Reinforcement in polymer is either synthetic or natural. Synthetic fibres, for example, glass, carbon are used for polymer composites however their fields of applications are restricted because of high cost. Natural fibres have many advantages over synthetic fibres. The potential utilization of different natural fibres for polymer composites has already been explored [1, 6]. Among various natural fibres, tamarind shell and groundnut shell has many advantages. These Fibres have become alternative reinforcement for synthetic fibres in polymer composites, due to their advantages like low density, less to wear during processing, low cost, nontoxic, easy to process, environmental friendly and bio degradability [2]. The tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) is a long-lived, bushy tree belonging to the Fabaceae family. The possibility of finding use for Tamarind fibres in fibre composite will open a new market for what normally considered waste or used in low value products. [3]. Groundnut shell powder is widely available at very low cost, so it is an ideal filler material in this regard. Groundnut shell powder is made from the most versatile part of the groundnut which is from the shell where this shell is organic in nature. High filler content, however many adversely affect the process ability, ductility and strength of the composites. Groundnut shell powder is the largest oilseed in terms of production [4]. In this study, tamarind shell particle and groundnut shell particle used as a reinforcing agent, with epoxy resin used as a matrix for the preparation of Tamarind and groundnut particulate epoxy composite. In the present investigation, the mechanical properties such as tensile strength, bending strength and hardness are evaluated for both the composites and compare the same. 2. COMPOSITE PREPARATION The tamarind and groundnut shell is gathered from local sources like farmers in rural areas. Tamarind shell and groundnut shell is washed repeatedly with water to remove dust and soluble impurities. The contents are sun dried followed by oven drying at 75 0 C. The dried tamarind shell and groundnut shell is converted into powder using a hammer mill and sieved to obtain powder with average size of ͳͲͲμ [5]. Fig 1. And Fig.2 shows tamarind and groundnut shell particles. Fig. 3 shows the mould made of mild steel of dimension of 200×200×5 mm³ is utilized for fabrication of composite. The tamarind and groundnut shell particles are blended separately with epoxy resin [L-12] and hardener [K- 6] by the basic mechanical mixing to prepare the separate composites and placed in the mould uniformly. The designation and detail composition of composites are presented in Table 1. Fig-1: Particles of Tamarind Shell