A comparative study on erosion characteristics of red mud filled bamboo–epoxy and glass–epoxy composites

Bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy matrix composites filled with different weight proportions of red mud (a solid waste generated in alumina plants) are fabricated. The mechanical properties of these composites are evaluated and are then compared with those of a similar set of glass–epoxy composites. The solid particle erosion characteristics of the bamboo–epoxy composites have been studied and the experimental results are compared with those for glass–epoxy composites under similar test conditions available in the published literature. For this, an air jet type erosion test rig and Taguchi orthogonal arrays have been used. The methodology based on Taguchi’s experimental design approach is employed to make a parametric analysis of erosion wear process. This systematic experimentation has led to determination of significant process parameters and material variables that predominantly influence the wear rate of the particulate filled composites reinforced with bamboo and glass fiber, respectively. The comparative study indicates that although the bamboo based composites exhibit relatively inferior mechanical properties, their erosion wear performance is better than that of the glass fiber reinforced composites. It further indicates that the incorporation of red mud particulates results in improvement of erosion wear resistance of both the bamboo and glass fiber composites.