Pyrolysis is a viable technique to convert waste tires into recyclable products, as the dumping of these scrap tires pose a serious environmental threat. In the present investigation, a detail methodology to fabricate and characterize the carbonaceous filler (in the form of nanocarbon black obtained from pyrolysis of waste tires) modified epoxy resin composites has been retrieved. The composites with varying carbon filler content (0, 5, 10, and 15 wt%) were fabricated using the manual hand lay‐up and compression molding techniques. The morphological analysis (field‐emission scanning electron microscopy test) revealed that the synthesized pyrolytic carbon black was in nanoscale and uniformly dispersed in the epoxy matrix. Various physical (density and water absorption), mechanical (tensile, compression, flexural, hardness, and impact), electrical and thermal (differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis) tests were done to completely examine the nanocomposite developed. We found that the 5 wt% of carbon black in epoxy resin exhibited the best mechanical properties and was complemented by the microstructural (scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction) tests analysis. High tensile strength and hardness than neat epoxy resin makes this composite a potential candidate for polymer coatings in automotive industries.

A novel hybrid composite was developed from natural fibers and the mechanical properties were investigated in this work. The palm sheath and sugarcane bagasse fibres were the natural fibers used and epoxy resin was the matrix. By using compression‐molding machine, various samples were prepared by varying the weight proportions of fibers. The performance of fibers was investigated under untreated and NaOH treated conditions. The tensile properties, flexural properties, hardness, and impact properties were evaluated using ASTM standards. The best sample was determined based on the experimental results. The best sample had the tensile strength of 19.80 ± 0.78 MPa, Young's Modulus of 0.953 ± 0.076 GPa, flexural strength of 28.79 MPa, impact strength of 2 kJ/m2, and the hardness value of 38.02 HD. The best sample was used to develop an automobile dashboard to justify its application.

In this research article, the mechanical analysis and microstructure investigation of chicken feather fiber with carbon residuum (CR) (obtained from crumb rubber) fused with epoxy resin hybrid composite has been done. The fibers surface was alkali treated with caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) to improve the interfacial bonding with matrix and reinforcement. Herein, the composites were fabricated using the hand lay‐up technique. Chicken feathers in form of reinforcing fibers were taken in various weight percentages of 1, 3, 5, and 7. Various mechanical tests were performed in accordance with the ASTM standards, and it was perceived that the 5 weight percentage of chicken feathers recorded the optimum impact test results. Finally, the hybrid composites were fabricated with this weight percentage of feathers and varying weight percentages (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5) of CR. Mechanical testing was then conducted on these hybrid composites and determined that the tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength showed a substantial enhancement. The justification of this enhancement was provided through the microstructural tests that includes the scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction analysis. Best results were forecasted for 5 wt% chicken feather and 1 wt% of CR hybrid composites amongst various combinations tried. Thus, noteworthy improvement in case of hybrid composite was seen as compared with neat epoxy. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:2690–2699, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers

Over past few decades, the electronic boards density and performance are enhanced by entrenching the components in the interior surfaces of the printed circuit boards (PCBs).The worthiness of this novel innovation has to be probed to warranty the functioning of electronic boards acquiesced to callous environments. In this study, a novel advancement concentrating on the development of bio-based materials for the PCB applications has been documented. The biobased composite from rice husk-epoxy resin could impendingly substitute the conventional synthetic fiber reinforced epoxy composites in PCB applications. The essential properties of biocomposites were assessed such as tensile and bending properties, dielectric property, thermal properties, moisture absorption, microdrilling, biodegradability, and flammability. Results obtained found that, these biocomposites were promising for PCB application.