Taguchi Method and Taguchi-Pareto Scheme to Evaluate Diffusivity during the Development of Orange Peel Epoxy Composites

Abstract

The diffusion parameters of orange peel epoxy composites are important elements in composite structure in that they explain how fast water and other fluids can diffuse through the composites as a sign of integrity test. In this article, we defined the optimal parametric settings for diffusivity parameters of orange peel epoxy composites. The Taguchi optimisation method used obtained an optimal parametric setting of P4Q4R1 in experiments conducted for three and seven days, respectively. The analysis of variance revealed significant contributions made by the initial and final weights, while the thickness parameter was found to be less significant. A variant of the Taguchi method called Taguchi-Pareto was introduced, which also underscores the thickness parameter as not economical to optimality. The specifications and dimensions obtained by Taguchi method or its variant may be useful design engineers when contemplating on how to reduce diffusivity and water uptake of composites.

Keywords

• Orange Peel Epoxy Composites, Optimization, Taguchi, Diffusivity, ANOVA