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The current study aims to examine the influence of surface‐modified micro‐sized walnut shell particulates (WSP) with an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) on epoxy composites. For that, epoxy/WSP composites are prepared by varying the WSP content up to 20 wt%. In this investigation, the physical properties (surface morphology, density, voids percentage, water uptake), mechanical properties (tensile, flexural, compressive, hardness), and sliding wear behavior of the composites are reported. From the micrographs, it is clear that WSP established good adhesion with the epoxy matrix. Further, it is found that the density, void content, water intake capacity, compressive strength, and hardness increase with WSP loading. Against that, the tensile and flexural strength is somewhat reduced at higher filler loading. Sliding wear tests are performed as per L25 Taguchi's orthogonal array. From the analysis, it is observed that WSP content is the most significant factor and sliding distance is the least significant factor for minimizing the wear rate. For analyzing the sliding wear performance under varied conditions, a prediction model is proposed using an artificial neural network to forecast the sliding wear rate of epoxy/WSP composites over a wide range of experimental domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kota stone dust (KSD) and fly ash (FA) are the wastes generated from the construction industry and thermal power plant, respectively. In the present work, a novel hybrid composite is developed to utilize KSD and FA as reinforcing phases in the epoxy matrix. The hand lay‐up method is adopted for the fabrication of 12 sets of samples. Four sets are prepared with single filler KSD and eight samples are prepared with a hybrid combination of KSD and FA. The prepared samples are undergone physical and mechanical tests. To understand the compatibility between filler‐matrix and visualize the dispersion of fillers in epoxy, micrographs are taken using the scanning electron microscope. The density and void contents of the material increases with an increase in filler content. The maximum water absorption measured is 0.96% for the combination of epoxy with 40 wt% KSD and 10 wt% FA. From mechanical testing, maximum tensile strength and flexural strength obtained is 34.4 MPa and 65.4 MPa, respectively, for a combination of epoxy with 20 wt% KSD and 5 wt% FA. Compressive strength and hardness increase with either of the content of the filler and reaches 116.28 MPa and 104 Shore D number, respectively, with 40 wt% KSD and 10 wt% FA. From experimentation, it was found that mechanical properties of the hybrid composites are better as compared to that of single filler composites though physical properties are slightly compromised by hybridization of fillers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present investigation, a steel industry waste Linz–Donawitz (LD) sludge was added in different proportions with a polypropylene (PP) matrix and composite specimens were manufactured using the hand layup method. Experiments were performed to study the physical, mechanical, and erosion wear properties of the PP–LD sludge composites. This investigation also includes scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and x‐ray diffraction analysis of filler and composites. The erosion wear tests were carried out by Taguchi's experimental array design, where the effect of five control factors (impingement angle, filler content, erodent size, impact velocity, and erodent temperature) on erosion rate was analyzed. It was observed that filler content is the most influencing factor affecting were rate of the composites. At the maximum filler content of 20 wt%, the compressive strength and hardness increased to 85.71 MPa and 0.643 GPa, respectively. The tensile strength of the composites marginally decreased by 12.97% with the addition of 20 wt% filler. It was further observed that the flexural strength of the neat polymer decreased from 29.23 to 22.98 MPa with the addition of 20 wt% LD sludge. The SEM pictures of the eroded surface exhibited that the material removal is due to micro cracking and crack propagation. Highlights: In this study, an industrial waste (LD sludge) is successfully used as a potential filler material in the PP matrix.Physical and mechanical properties of the PP‐LD sludge composites are analyzed.Effects of different parameters like filler content, impact velocity, impingement angle, erodent size and erodent temperature on the wear behavior are studied.Scanning electron microscopy is carried out so that a micro‐examination of the surfaces can be performed, as well as an assessment of the wear derbies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates a composite prepared with polyester and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) in terms of the properties required in the material for microelectronics applications. The influence of filler loading and the surface treatment of hBN with a silane coupling agent (γ‐aminopropyl triethoxy silane) is studied. It has been observed that the silane‐modified hBN improves the compatibility and adhesion with the matrix as verified by SEM images. The experimental investigation reveals that the addition of hBN in polyester unwillingly rises the density, voids content, and water absorption rate. Though, the increment is limited with surface‐modified hBN. The material's mechanical properties improve with filler loading over a particular range of filler loading. The material's thermal conductivity and glass transition temperature increase with hBN content, whereas the coefficient of thermal expansion reduces. Polyester when filled with 40 wt% of the silane‐hBN, the thermal conductivity improves around six times that of unfilled polyester. The dielectric properties are marginally augmented with filler loading whereas, the increase in frequency results in the reduction of dielectric properties. It can be observed from the overall experimental analysis that the developed material can be used in different microelectronic applications. Highlights: A new class of composite is developed with polyester and raw/modified hBN.Composite with modified hBN shows improved physical/mechanical properties.Thermal properties of polyester improved appreciably with treated hBN.The dielectric properties of composites remain well within the range.The fabricated composites are recommended for microelectronics applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]