Optimization of Mechanical Behaviors of Red Mud Particulated Coir–Vinyl Ester Composites Using Intuitive Analysis Based on Response Surface Methodology and Simulated Annealing

Abstract

Addition of red mud particles into coir fiber reinforced vinyl ester composites is investigated in this study. Red mud is the caustic insoluble waste residue generated during the alumina production from bauxite. The composites were fabricated by varying weight percentage of the red mud and length of the coir fiber in polymer matrix composites. The compression molding process was used for fabricating the composites and static mechanical tests like flexural and impact were conducted as per ASTM standards. The non linear regression models were developed and optimum conditions for better mechanical behavior were determined using Response Surface Methodology and Simulated Annealing algorithms. An intuitive analysis was conducted to determine the better value of mechanical behaviors within the ranges of fabrication parameters.