Synthesis and characterization of ball-milled eggshell and Al₂O₃ reinforced hybrid green composite material

Abstract

Eggshell is a by-product (a secondary product derived from a production process) which produces lots of environment pollution. However, some environment pollution can be reduced by utilizing this waste. In the present investigation, an attempt was made to utilize eggshell as the reinforcement material with alumina (Al₂O₃) in the development of composite material. Carbonized eggshell particles and Al₂O₃ ceramic particles were ball-milled up to 100 hours to obtain a uniform particle size of reinforcement particles. Results showed that by using Al₂O₃ with eggshell in the development of aluminium based composite material after the ball-milling, mechanical properties were significantly improved. However, toughness and ductility were reduced. Microstructure results showed a uniform distribution of eggshell and Al₂O₃ in aluminium alloy. Mechanical properties of the composite material were further improved after the heat treatment process. Thermal expansion, corrosion behaviour were also investigated to observe the effect of eggshell and Al₂O₃ addition in the development of aluminium based composite material.