Compression and flexural properties of ground macadamia nutshell particulate composites

This paper presents results of the research conducted on the particulate composites that are fabricated using ground macadamia nutshell powder as filler and vinyl ester resin as a matrix material. Macadamia nutshell powder with particle size ranges of 300-500μm and 500- 700μm were used in this study. The study focused on the compression and flexural behaviour of the fabricated particulate composites with varying volume fractions of Macadamia nutshell powder. Results obtained from the experimental study were validated to analyse the loading performance of the fabricated materials and the effect of Macadamia nutshell powder in the composites. The results illustrated that the variation of volume fraction of Macadamia nutshell powder had a substantial effect on the overall performance of the fabricated particulate composite materials. Simple scanning electron microscopic analysis of the materials revealed that the void formation due to higher particle size and lower bonding between filler and matrix materials was the reason behind the minimal load carrying capacity.