Materials selection of reinforced sustainable composites by recycling waste plastics and agro-waste: An integrated multi-criteria decision making approach

Abstract

• Developed sustainable composites like floor tiles for buildings and pavements. • The materials have been developed by recycling plastics and agro waste. • MCDM is employed to identify the suitable composition for polymeric composites. • A hybrid AHP-WASPAS has been employed to rank the composites. • Comparisons, Sensitivity analysis, Statistical consistency have been carried out. Due to the synergic interaction of matrix and reinforcement, the workability of polymeric composite materials has shown its dependency on compositions. In the present study, Weighted Aggregate Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) has been applied for ranking the developed sustainable polymeric composite materials. The different properties of composite materials, namely compressive strength, flexural strength, density, abrasive wear, and water absorption were the criteria for ranking of the alternatives. The criteria have been weighted through the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). To examine the consistency and robustness of the proposed integrated approach, various comparative and sensitivity analyses have been carried out. The correlation coefficients between the ranking results of the proposed and some other existing MCDM techniques have been computed to observe the statistical consistency. Empirical findings of the methods suggest 70 wt% of polypropylene, 15 wt% of rice husk ash and 15 wt. %of sand as the best composition for polymeric composite material as floor tile. The study validates that the MCDM techniques can be successfully applied for ranking of the alternatives and can enhance the materials selection process. The study will significantly help industrial managers involved in the selection process of polymeric composites.