Mechanical and thermal behaviour of waste spent coffee ground filler reinforced vinyl-ester composites for civil construction applications

This current study examines the addition of Spent Coffee Grounds filler (SCGs) as a primary reinforcement with vinyl ester (VE) composites using the vacuum bagging process with varying filler contents ranging from 5 to 25 wt%. The mechanical properties, such as tensile strength, modulus, flexural strength, impact strength (Izod), and hardness, were evaluated. Vinyl ester resin with 15 weight percent used coffee grounds filler has superior mechanical qualities, including tensile strength, tensile modulus, hardness of shore-D, flexural strength, and impact strength, according to a thorough analysis of the data. The SCGs/VE composites outperformed than other types of SCG-VE bio-composites in terms of tensile strength (40 MPa), flexural strength (64 MPa), impact strength (15 kJ/m²), and shore-D hardness (82), and this trend persisted even when the filler loadings reached 15 wt%. Compared to other types of SCG- VE bio-composites, the ones with the lowest thermal conductivity (0.154 Wm^-1 K^-1) and the greatest heat deflection temperature (62 °C). The enhanced HDT is a result of the well-distributed and excellent adherence of the SCG filler to the vinyl ester matrix; these properties increase the material's resistance to heat distortion. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy, the filler-matrix interaction was analyzed.