Multi-response optimization of hybrid filler composition for pultruded jute fiber reinforced polymer composite

Abstract

Sustainability and ecological awareness draw the attention of researchers towards natural fiber polymer composites, and continuous efforts are being made to improve their properties by altering the material composition and processing method. In the present work, an investigation of the effect of the fillers loading on the tensile and flexural properties along with hardness and cross-sectional shrinkage of the pultruded jute fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester resin composites is presented. A setup was designed and developed indigenously for pultrusion of FRP composite to achieve the objective of the current work. The objective of the present work is to investigate the effect of different fillers on characteristics of pultruded jute fiber reinforced polymer (PJFRP) composite and to propose a composition of hybrid filler for optimization of characteristics. A new approach has been presented in this work to develop hybrid filler by mixing three different fillers — bagasse fiber, carbon black (CB) and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) — to optimize the characteristics PJFRP composite. Various compositions of hybrid filler are prepared as per Taguchi L9 orthogonal array for experimentation and further Grey relation method is used for multi-response optimization. The hybrid filler content of any composition is kept fixed i.e. 15% of resin weight to prepare a blend of unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) matrix and hybrid filler in all experiments. It was found that the all performance characteristics under consideration other than tensile strength have been improved by about 15 to 47% when PJFRP composite with hybrid filler (optimum composition) is compared to PJFRP composite without filler. The tensile strength, flexural strength, hardness, and cross-sectional shrinkage were found 61.39 MPa, 155.48 MPa, 42.67 HRK, and 4.99% respectively by using an optimum composition of hybrid filler in PJFRP composite. The predicted grey relation grade and experimental grey relation grade shows good agreement.