Thermal-mechanical characteristics of groundnut shell/ ATH/ Si/ SiC ceramic particulates reinforced glass fiber-epoxy hybrid composites

The present investigation demonstrates the influences of reinforcing groundnut shell and inorganic fillers (aluminum trihydrate, silicon and silicon carbide) on the characteristics of glass fabric-reinforced epoxy laminates. The laminates were manufactured using wet layup method and characterized for mechanical, physical and thermal characteristics. The reinforcement of fillers enhanced tensile strength, flexural strength, and impact strength by 70.89%, 62.78%, and 232.21%, respectively when compared with standard sample (GE). Thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimeter analysis showed improved thermal stability with higher onset temperature. Fourier transform infrared spectra affirmed the existence of functional groups from the reinforced fillers. An artificial neural network model was generated to predict composite characteristics, attaining higher precision with R-squared values around 1.0 and select the best composite material. Statistical evaluation using one-way ANOVA affirmed significant deviation in characteristics between the laminates. The investigation illustrates the capability of natural and inorganic filler blends to improve the effectiveness of epoxy laminates for cutting-edge applications.