IJEP 45(10): 882-890 : Vol. 45 Issue. 10 (October 2025)
1. G.B. Pant DSEU, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Okhla-I Campus, New Delhi – 110 020, India
2. Government College of Engineering and Research, Avasari, Pune – 412 406, Maharashtra, India
Abstract
Disposal of agricultural husk waste is a critical issue in current agricultural waste management. It has been found that these husks can be used in producing composite fiberboard when properly mixed with epoxy. To develop a useful fiberboard, three main factors were selected: the reinforcement material, its weight percentage and curing temperature. Mustard husk powder (MHP), wheat husk powder (WHP) and rice husk powder (RHP) are the three chosen reinforcement materials. These are added at weight percentages of 10%, 20% and 30%. The three levels of curing temperature are 80°C, 100°C and 120°C, representing the third factor. The L9 orthogonal array from the Taguchi design was used to create nine composite samples. Tensile and flexural strength tests were performed to assess the material characteristics. The test results were validated using grey relation analysis and principal component analysis alongside Taguchi analysis to determine the optimal design parameters. The research indicates that, for higher mechanical strength, rice husk powder at 20% reinforcement weight and a curing temperature of 120°C is the best configuration.
Keywords
Agricultural husk waste, Composite fiberboard, Tensile strength, Flexural strength, Taguchi-GRA-PCA
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