Investigation on thermo-mechanical characteristics of treated/untreated Portunus sanguinolentus shell powder-based jute fabrics reinforced epoxy composites

The current study deals with the effective usage of Portunus sanguinolentus shell, which is a solid waste in the seafood industry. This Portunus sanguinolentus shell waste was powdered and used as untreated fillers in jute fabrics reinforced epoxy composites. Then Portunus sanguinolentus shell waste powder was treated with chemicals to perform fat removal, deproteination, decarbonization and deacetylation to obtain treated Portunus sanguinolentus shell filler. Three different composites were developed with traditional hand layup process consisting of four layers jute fabrics that were filled with 10 wt% untreated Portunus sanguinolentus shell filler, chemical treated 10 wt% Portunus sanguinolentus shell filler and unfilled one. The thermo-mechanical and fracture morphologies were assessed by tensile, flexural, compression, shear, impact, hardness thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy analysis. The results showed an increase in the thermo-mechanical property of chemical-treated Portunus sanguinolentus shell powder-filled jute fabrics-based epoxy composite. This phenomenon is due to the increase in the chitosan, mineral contents and decrease in the organic content in the Portunus sanguinolentus shell powder due to chemical treatment, thus enhancing the bonding between the filler and fiber matrix with reduction of the void. A showcase stand was developed with the best performer, as an attempt in the perfection of application. The application is then analyzed using ANSYS to predict the deformation behavior when subjected to 0.25 kg, 0.5 kg and 1 kg loads.