Study of Polymeric Composite Reinforced with Natural Particles: Measurement and Evaluation

Abstract

Natural particles and their composites are important in materials science, where a significant attentiveness is being displayed in the usage of natural particles as reinforcement in polymer composites. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of the walnut shell particles as reinforcing fillers in a matrix composite. So, the amount composite examples were advanced through varying the percentage by weight of filler (3, 5, 7, and 9%) in an epoxy and unsaturated polyester polymer. Composite samples were mechanically characterized by tensile tests, flexural tests, hardness tests, and the Izod impact test. The tensile strength and impact strength of epoxy resin were increased after adding organic waste filler. The highest values of tensile strength and impact strength happened at 7% wt. The flexural strength and hardness of shore D increased with the percentage of walnut shell particles. The highest values of flexural strength and hardness were found at 9% wt. The results show that the mechanical properties of epoxy composite are better than the mechanical properties of unsaturated polyester composite when walnut shell particles are added.