EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND ATOMIC FORCE MICROSTRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF SISAL FIBER, LUFFA FIBER AND COCONUT SHELL POWDER REINFORCED EPOXY HYBRID COMPOSITES M. NALLUSAMY, M. SURIYAPRAKASH, K. KIRAN Surface Review and Letters, 2025 This research paper aims to uncover the mechanical properties of composite materials derived from sustainable luffa and sisal fibers, in conjunction with coconut shell powder and epoxy resins. These exceptional fibers possess remarkable mechanical strength, rendering them suitable for a diverse array of engineering applications spanning the automotive and aerospace sectors. To modify their characteristics, the luffa and sisal fibers undergo an alkaline treatment (NaOH) lasting 3[Formula: see text]h. Subsequently, laminate composites are created through a compression molding process whereby heat and pressure are applied to mold solid structures out of these fibers placed within a mold. The composites have been formulated in five unique compositions by varying the weight percentage (wt.%) of luffa and sisal fibers that had undergone chemical treatment to be converted into isolates with a density ranging between 40[Formula: see text]wt.% and 90[Formula: see text]wt.%. Diazole and epoxy resin, along with a hardener kept at a constant of 60[Formula: see text]wt.%, were incorporated in a ratio of 40:60. The development of the composite’s mechanical characteristics necessitates strong interface interaction between the fibers and matrix. Intensive tests were conducted on all five samples, which featured different compositions, to evaluate their ultimate tensile strength (UTS), flexural strength and fatigue test results. The outcomes of this analysis exhibit the varying accomplishments attained via diverse compositions. The remarkable enhancements in UTS and flexural strength are shown in sample 3, while only displaying minor advancements in impact resistance. The surface layout, topography and real-space scrutiny of a specimen subjected to tensile testing are microscopically scrutinized to crystallographically ascertain the surface microstructure as observed in the AFM microstructural analysis.
Exploring Mechanical Properties of Hemp, Sisal Fibers and Silicon Carbide Particle Reinforced Hybrid Epoxy Resin Composites M. Suriya Prakash, M. Nallusamy, V.S. Sree Balaji, C. Dharanidharaan Materials Science Forum, 2025 This study investigates the mechanical properties, water absorption and microstructural analysis of hybrid composites reinforced with Hemp fiber (HF) and Sisal fiber (SF) combined with Silicon Carbide (SiC) particles in epoxy composites. The fibers were treated with 5% NaOH solution for varying durations to enhance their properties. Composite laminates were fabricated using compression molding with different weight fractions of fibers (30 wt%) and SiC particles. The mechanical behaviour of the composites was evaluated through tensile, flexural, and water absorption tests following ASTM standards. The results shows that hybridization with hemp and sisal fibers improves the properties of epoxy composites, with increased hemp fiber content leading to enhanced mechanical performance.These included a tensile strength of 57.82 MPa, flexural strength of 94.7 MPa. The water absorption dipped in 120 hours of immersion in water, with the HFSF/SiC-5 showing the highest water absorption of 6%.The SEM images revealed a homogeneous distribution, fiber pullouts, voids of fibers and filler materials confirmed the presence in the composites.
MICROSTRUCTURAL ANALYSIS AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THREE-LAYERED STACK OF FSAM AA7075-Cu ALLOYS M. NALLUSAMY, M. SURIYAPRAKASH, K. KIRAN, M. JAYACHITRA Surface Review and Letters, 2024 Friction Stir Additive Manufacturing (FSAM) is a novel solid-state technique which is performed on the basis of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) process. Compared with conventional fusion welding, FSW overcomes welding defects when it is used for joining dissimilar metals. In this study, Friction Stir Additive Manufactured AA7075-Cu alloy is performed on the principle of FSW by which the materials are not melted during the process. The FSW process is performed on the three-layered stack of alloy combinations of AA7075-Cu alloys. The input process parameters, such as axial load, welding feed and rotational speed at different levels, are considered. The effect of mechanical properties, such as microhardness, Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) and % elongation, is observed. The microstructure on the welded nugget zone is obtained using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The microhardness of FSAM AA7075-Cu alloys is significantly increased when compared to the microhardness of AA7075 and Cu alloys. The crystalline structure on the welded nugget zone is observed on the microstructure of FSAM AA7075-Cu alloys from SEM microstructures of parent zone as well as welded zone.
EFFECT OF ALKALI TREATMENT ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND MICROSTRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF LUFFA CYLINDRICA AND SNAKE GRASS FIBER-REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITES M. SURIYAPRAKASH, R. RANGANATHAN, V. S. SREE BALAJI, M. NALLUSAMY Surface Review and Letters, 2023 This study investigates the mechanical properties of Luffa cylindrica and snake grass fiber composites prepared with different combinations of fiber and resin. Fibers are produced from natural sources having good mechanical properties and eco-friendly that can be used in various engineering applications such as automobile, aerospace and automotive industries. The Luffa cylindrica and snake grass fibers will be treated for 3[Formula: see text]h with alkali (NaOH) chemical treatment. The treated fibers are then developed as Laminate composites using compression molding technique. The composites have been made in five different compositions by varying the weight percentage (wt.%) of the chemically treated Luffa cylindrica and snake grass fibers (combination of maximum 30[Formula: see text]wt.%) mixed with epoxy resin and hardener (maximum of constant 70[Formula: see text]wt.%). Bonding between the fiber and matrix plays a vital role in influencing the mechanical characteristics of composites. The five samples have been prepared from the five different compositions and undergone various studies to find its mechanical properties such as ultimate tensile test (UTS), impact test, flexural test and water absorption test. It is found that the UTS and flexural strength have been considerably enhanced by sample 2 and impact strength has been notably increased by sample 3. The microstructure of tensile-tested specimen is observed by using the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). It is reported that the better bonding between the fibers and matrix has been observed by SEM microstructural analysis.
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH OF PARAMETRIC OPTIMIZATION ON WIRE ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE MACHINING OF AA7075/ZRB2IN SITU COMPOSITES M. NALLUSAMY, A. G. KARTHIKEYAN, K. KIRAN Surface Review and Letters, 2022 The AA7075 composites reinforced with 3, 6, and 9 volume fractions (vol.%) of ZrB 2 particles have been successfully fabricated using in situ fabrication method. In this technique, the inorganic salts K 2 ZrF 6 and KBF 4 were added to the molten aluminum and retained the melting at 900 ∘ C to form the required vol.% of ZrB 2 particles. The aluminum-reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs) are commonly known as aluminum matrix composites (AMCs). This work carries the effects of various wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) input process parameters like pulse-on-time ([Formula: see text]), pulse-off-time ([Formula: see text]), wire feed rate (WFR), and gap voltage (GV) on the output responses such as material removal rate (MRR), surface roughness (SR), and Kerf-width ([Formula: see text]) of the fabricated AA7075/(3, 6, and 9) vol.% ZrB 2 in situ AMCs. Based on Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal array method, the design of experiments (DoE) was used to carry out the operations on the fabricated AMCs. The optimal level of process parameters was found by the main effects plot for signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, contour plots, and the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The effect of these process parameters on MRR and SR was analyzed and it is found that the maximum MRR was attained in the optimal parametric combination of GV [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]V; [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]s; [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]s; WFR [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]mm/s; Reinforcement [Formula: see text] vol.%, and the minimum SR was attained in the optimal parametric combination of GV [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]V; [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]s; [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]s; WFR [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]mm/s; Reinforcement [Formula: see text] vol.%.
EVALUATION OF METALLURGICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF AA7075/ZrB2IN SITU AMCs AFTER FRICTION STIR PROCESSING M. NALLUSAMY, K. KIRAN, M. SURIYAPRAKASH Surface Review and Letters, 2022 Many researchers have attempted to join Aluminum Matrix Composites (AMCs) using traditional fusion welding processes resulting in the formation of porosity, segregation, coarse microstructure, brittle intermetallic compounds and corrosion of ceramic particles. Friction Stir Processing (FSP) is the latest solid-state technique to achieve the homogeneous dispersion of reinforcement particles in the friction stir processed zone of AMCs [M. Shamanian, E. Bahrami, H. Edris and M. R. Nasresfahani, Surf. Rev. Lett. 25 (2018) 1950010]. The most widely used reinforcing material since the inception of FSP is inorganic (metallic) powders such as silicon carbide, titanium alloy, graphene, iron, stainless steel, nitrides and oxides, and fewer works have been reported on organic powders (i.e. bioprocessing using agro-waste powders) such as fly ash, palm kernel shell ash, coconut shell ash and rice husk ash [O. M. Ikumapayi, E. T. Akinlabi, S. K. Pal and J. D. Majumdar, Procedia Manuf. 35 (2019) 935]. In this work, the effect of FSP on the changes in metallurgical characterization and mechanical properties of AA7075/(3, 6 and 9) vol.% ZrB2 in situ AMCs was observed. After performing FSP, the AMCs were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscope and the mechanical properties such as Ultimate Tensile Strength and microhardness on the processed zone of the AMCs were calculated. The effect of FSP on AA7075/ (3, 6 and 9) vol.% ZrB2 in situ AMCs was investigated. The fracture morphologies on the processed surface of the AMCs were evaluated.
