Sawdust-Reinforced Glass Fiber Epoxy-Based Composite: Fabrication and Analysis of Mechanical Properties

The aim of this research is to develop a glass fiber epoxy/sawdust composite using leftover sawdust from the industry as reinforcement. Teak, sal, and rubber wood powders were used as reinforcing materials, while epoxy resin (LY556) was utilized as a matrix material for composite synthesis. The mechanical property, i.e., hardness, was used as a response variable. Response surface approach was used to design the trials. In order to plan experiments and analysis of data, a software design expert 11 was used. A quadratic regression model was developed for the forecasting of the outcome of process constraints on the hardness of the composite material. Confirmation experiments revealed that the built model performs effectively in the test environment. Flexible intensity, impact intensity, density, and compressive strength are among the mechanical and physical properties that are evaluated. The mechanical parameters of the composite at the optimal level of process parameter were found to have hardness (21.45 BHN), tensile strength (65.6 MPa), impact energy (5.1 kJ/m²⁾, compressive strength (38 MPa), and density (618 kg/m³⁾.