Mechanical, thermal, and tribological characterization of bio-polymeric composites: A comprehensive review

Abstract

The current review extensively discusses the effects of various natural fillers on mechanical, thermal, and tribological characteristics of polypropylene, polyethylene, poly(vinyl chloride), and polyester resin matrices. The discussion has considered all of the tensile, flexural, and impact properties along with the wear rate and thermogravimetric analysis of a wide range of natural reinforcements. Detailed comparative studies about the factors that influence the fillers’ performance in the polymeric composites were also conducted to give the reader a comprehensive understanding to enable a better selection of the optimized characteristics to develop a more sustainable design. This systematic review indicates that the majority of green fillers had an adverse effect on the tensile strength of the considered matrices, but generally improved the tensile modulus. Moreover, the studied fillers enhanced the flexural modulus property for all mentioned matrices. The impact strength was dramatically influenced by the intrinsic characteristic of the filler type.

Keywords

• natural composite
• mechanical properties
• green composites
• thermal properties
• tribological properties