Volume 48, No 1, 2026, Pages 39-53
Download full text in PDFEffect of Surface Modification on Wear Behaviour of Coconut Shell-Filled Epoxy Composites: Insights from ANOVA and Tukey Analysis
Author:
Vishwas Mahesh 
DOI: 10.24874/ti.1945.05.25.09
Received: 2 May 2025
Revised: 3 August 2025
Accepted: 20 September 2025
Published: 15 March 2026
Abstract:
The study focuses on the abrasive wear characteristics of epoxy composites incorporating agricultural waste-surface treated coconut shell powder (CSP) as filler. To determine the effect of surface modifications on wear resistance, three different filler CSP conditions were used: untreated, alkali-treated, and silane-treated. It was found that surface treatment greatly improves the adhesion between the matrix and the filler, improving wear performance. The improvement in alkali treatment was caused by stronger mechanical interlocking due to the removal of superficial deposits: it was found that silane treatment using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane resulted in the greatest improvement, yielding 35% lower wear rates than untreated composites at optimal 20 wt.% filler loading. The wear modes under the micro-ploughing dominant regime underwent change to severe cutting and delamination with increasing loads from (10N to 30N) with silane treated composites outperforming all other conditions. This change occurred prematurely in silane composites. SEM analysis backed these results with images showing silane-treated samples having few signs of particle pullout and features of ductile wear. Statistical analysis performed using ANOVA and Tukey’s test proved the hypothesis concerning surface treatment having an effect was true, showing silane treated CSP composites are a viable candidate for applications with critical wear conditions.
Keywords:
Coconut shell powder (CSP), Surface treatment, Silane treatment, Alkali treatment, Abrasive wear, Agricultural waste reinforcement
