EFFECT OF PARTICLE SIZE ON THE MECHANICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF COW BONE PARTICLE REINFORCED POLYESTER COMPOSITE

Abstract

This research work studied the effect of different particle sizes of cow bone particles on some physical properties and mechanical properties of cow bone particulate filled polyester composite. The cow bone particles were sun dried for several days, ground and sieved to different micro sizes and used to reinforce unsaturated polyester resin. Hand lay-up technique was used in the composite manufacture. It was observed that the particle size of 300µm gave the best tensile modulus and best compressive strength while the particle size of 180µm gave the best tensile strength. The water absorption of the composite increased with increase in particle size while the density of the composite increased as a result of the reinforcement. The developed composite has good compressive strength and can be useful in application with minimum requirement on strength and light weight such as floor and wall tiles.