Use of egg shell particulate as fillers in E-glass/epoxy composites

This paper explores the potential of chicken egg shell as a filler material in E-glass/epoxy composites. Calcium carbonate is the major constituent in chicken egg shell and can substitute mineral calcium carbonate as fillers in composites. Chicken egg shell was treated with sodium chloride solution to remove the layer of membrane on the inner wall. Treated shells were then dried, powdered, pulverized and sieved to size of 150 m to get egg shell fillers. Epoxy composite panels with eleven layers of plain weave fabric of 128 gsm were fabricated with 0%, 3% and 6% wt. egg shell fillers by hand lay-up technique. Tensile and impact tests were conducted according to ASTM standards. Results of tests showed drop in tensile strength while tensile modulus and impact strength increased with inclusion of egg shell fillers.