Mechanical and physical characterization of agricultural waste reinforced polymer composites

Increasing concern about global warming, primarily due to deforestation has led development of new materials substitute to wood, which enhances optimal utilization of natural resources. Natural fibers such as jute, flax, sisal, etc., belong to this category and are locally available in abundance. All these natural fibers have excellent physical and mechanical properties and can be utilized more effectively in the development of composite materials for various applications. This paper investigates the properties of groundnut shell particles reinforced polymer composite (GSPC). Composite samples were prepared with different weight percentages of particles in polymer matrix. These samples were tested for some physical and mechanical properties. From the results of the experiments, it has been observed that the sample A (with 20 wt% of reinforcement) has maximum MOR of 40.57MPa and sample E (60 wt% of reinforcement) has maximum MOE of 8.204 GPa. The tensile test shows sample C (40 wt %) has maximum tensile strength and young’s modulus of 28.09 MPa and 8204MPa respectively. The impact test results show a steady increase in impact strength upto 50 wt % of filler addition. Moisture content of GSPC varies from 1.92 to 4.96% and water absorption was only 1.51–8.82% for 15 days.