Development and Experimental Investigation of Pigeon Pea Stalk Particle Reinforced Epoxy Composites and their Hybrid Composites for Lightweight Structural Applications

• Autor(a) principal: Pujar,Nagaraj Malleshappa
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Mani,Yuvaraja
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Materials research (São Carlos. Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-14392022000100332
• topic: Agro-residue; mechanical properties; dynamic mechanical analysis; hybrid composites; TOPSIS

Abstract The pigeon pea (PP) stalk is a sustainable lignocellulosic material left by the farmers after harvesting its pulses. The use of agricultural residue in the development of polymer composites is a step towards sustainability. This study focuses on developing and characterizing the mechanical properties (the tensile, flexural, interlaminar shear, compression, impact, and hardness) of less utilized agro-based PP stalk particle reinforced epoxy composites and their hybrid composites. In addition, the density, dynamic mechanical analysis, water absorption, and morphology were also investigated for a better understanding of these composites. In comparison to other agro-residue reinforced composites, PP stalk particles (up to 20 wt.%) reinforced epoxy composites have demonstrated comparable mechanical, viscoelastic, and water absorption characteristics. Jute/PP/epoxy and glass/PP/epoxy hybrid composites outperformed PP/epoxy composites in mechanical, dynamic, and water absorption characteristics. The ranking of the composites based on the characterization was done using the TOPSIS method, and glass/PP/epoxy composite with a 20 wt.% was identified as the best performer among all the composites. The results demonstrated that PP stalk particle reinforced composites are a viable alternative to wood and other natural fiber-based composites and could be used in lightweight structural applications such as automotive interiors, furniture, packaging containers, and cascading applications.