Wear performance of polymer composites reinforced with wood apple shell particles

Purpose The results demonstrate the effectiveness of wood apple shell particles in enhancing wear resistance, offering a sustainable alternative for composite reinforcement. This study aims to emphasize the benefits of agricultural waste utilization in material development, reducing waste while promoting sustainable industrial applications. Design/methodology/approach In this experimental study, epoxy resin (LAPOX B11) is used. It is a medium-viscosity and unmodified polymer that falls under the epoxide category. It consists of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) which shows a viscosity range of 11,000–15,000 MPa·s at 25 °C. This resin is combined with hardener HY-951 (a compound based on 2-aminoethyl ethane-1,2-diamine) for curing purposes. Wood apple shell which is considered as waste materials is used to prepare wood apple particles. A ball milling machine is used to obtain particles from hard wood apple shells, Figure 1. The wood apple particles with varying weight percentage (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt.%) are thoroughly mixed with epoxy and corresponding hardener. Sliding wear tests, Taguchi experimental studies and steady state studies are also carried out. Findings The wood apple particles reinforced polymer composites with 20 wt.% filler content exhibited the minimum specific wear rate among all the fabricated composite samples. The factor combination of A3B2C3D3, that is, filler content of 15 wt.%, normal load of 20 N, sliding distance of 1,800 m and sliding velocity of 3 m/s will result in minimum specific wear rate. The parameters A (filler wt.%), C (sliding distance) and D (sliding velocity) has significant effect on specific wear rate. The scanning electron microscopic study exhibited the presence of micro-ploughing, micro-fracture, plastic deformation, formation of groves and pits over the surface of tested specimens which may be considered as the possible failure mechanism. Originality/value Wear performance of polymer composites reinforced with wood apple shell particles is a new characterized composite which has better wear and strength factors. Also it forms the usage of Agricultural waste to resources. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-08-2025-0386/