Mechanical and tribo-performance analysis of LD sludge filled wood apple dust-epoxy composites using response surface methodology

This research presents the progress made in creating a novel type of composite material that incorporates wood apple dust (WAD) and Linz Donawitz (LD) sludge as reinforcing agents. Composites were prepared with different proportions of WAD and LD sludge reinforced in epoxy resin and their physical and mechanical were studied. Tensile, compressive and flexural strengths were measured using an Instron made universal testing machine as per ASTM standard. Further, the study was extended to evaluate the wear resistance (WR) characteristics of the fabricated composites by using response surface methodology (RSM). With the addition of 5 wt% WAD and 12 wt% LD sludge the composites showed 24% increase in flexural strength, 9.88% increase in compressive strength and 30.2% increase in tensile strength values. The RSM analysis revealed that incorporation of fillers greatly influences the WR of the composites.