Shear Strength of Adhesively Bonded Joint with Toughened Epoxy Mussel Powder

Synthetic fillers were usually used to improve the shear strength of epoxy resin, but dependency on mineral-derived substances may increase the greenhouse effect. To surmount the problem, biofiller from household wastes mussel shells is proposed to improve the mechanical properties of epoxy due to its high calcium carbonate content. In this paper, the physical properties (X-ray diffraction test)and shear strength of toughened epoxy with mussel shell powder (TEMP) were investigated. Single lap joints (SLJ) specimens were tested for shear strength with incorporation of various TEMP volume fractions and over-lap length. The testing series includes TEMP volume fractions from 0% to 10% (by 2.5% increment) and overlap length ranging from 12.7 to 50.8 mm. The results demonstrated that the longest overlap length and 7.5% TEMP volume fractions exhibited a significant effect on the ultimate joint strength. From scanning electron microscopy (S EM), 10% TEMP was prone to particle agglomerations and gave less joint strength. The joint strength with 7.5% mussel shell powder was stronger compared with other volume fractions, with strength enhancement from 103.7% to 169.6% for the studied overlap lengths.