Preparation and Characterization of Amino-Silanized Opuntia Cladode Fibre and Fumed Silica Toughened Epoxy Composite

The purpose of this study was to develop and describe the mechanical, wear, and electrical characteristics of epoxy composites reinforced with opuntia cladode short fiber (OCF) and fumed silica (FS). The primary objective of this study was to determine how the addition of silane treated fumed silica particle improves the load bearing and wear properties of novel opuntia cladode fiber-epoxy composite. The cladode of the opuntia plant was used to create the opuntia fiber, whereas fumed silica was purchased in its finished form. The laminates were made using a manual layup method and tested as per ASTM specifications. According to the end results the tensile strength, flexural strength, impact toughness, hardness, and adhesion strength were all found to rise by 35.2%, 31.4%, 91.4%, 1.3%, and 6.2%, respectively, for composite designation E0 having 30 vol.% of OCF. Similar improvements were seen in load bearing and dielectric characteristics after adding 2 vol. % of fumed silica. The sp. wear rate was measured at 0.0174 mm3/Nm after 30% OCF was added to the composite E0. The 2.0 vol.% fumed silica composite also has the lowest COF and sp. Wear rate, at 0.44 and 0.005 mm3/Nm, respectively. When calculating the maximum dielectric constant and dielectric loss, the N4 composite was found to have values of 6.8 and 1.4, respectively. The SEM fractography proves that the silane-treatment enhanced the dispersion of fumed silica in the matrix and reinforced the fiber-matrix contact. These properties enhanced natural fibre composites could be used in transportation sector to aerospace and consumer electronic divisions where product size and weight is highly concern.