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Ceramics are widely used in microelectronics, semiconductor manufacturing, medical devices, aerospace, and aviation, cutting tools, precision optics, MEMS and NEMS devices, insulating components, and ceramic molds. But the fabrication and machining of the ceramic-based materials by conventional processes are always difficult due to their higher hardness and mechanical properties. Therefore, advanced manufacturing techniques are being preferred for these advanced materials, and out of that, laser-based processes are widely used. The benefits of laser fabrication and machining of ceramics include high precision, reduced thermal damage, non-contact processing, and the ability to work with complex geometries. Laser technology continues to advance, enabling even more intricate and diverse applications for ceramics in a wide range of industries. This paper explains various laser based ceramic processing techniques, such as selective laser sintering and melting, and laser machining techniques, such as laser drilling, etc. Identifying and optimizing the process parameters that influence the output quality of laser processed parts is the key technique to improving the quality, which is also focused on in this paper. It aims to facilitate the researchers by providing knowledge on laser-based manufacturing of ceramics and their composites to establish the field further.

The present study focuses on day‐by‐day litter discarded cigarette filter fiber (CFF) reinforced polyvinyl ester (VE) composites developed by a compression molding process. Chicken eggshell powder (ESP) is used as a filler material in the matrix phase with different weight percentages (0%, 3%, and 5%). Multi‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM) using Criteria Importance through Inter criteria Correlation (CRITIC) integrated TOmada de Decisao Interativa Multicriterio (TODIM) methodology was used to find the optimal condition for mechanical properties. CFF (50–60 wt%), fiber length (10–20 mm), and filler (0–5 wt%) are selected as process control factors with different levels. The CRITIC‐TODIM optimization results reveal that ESP filler has acted as the dominant parameter in fabricated composites in amplifying the tensile, impact, and flexural properties. The integrated approach reveals that CFF 60 wt%, fiber length 20 mm with ESP 3 wt% combination have the optimal mechanical characteristics. Thermo‐gravimetric analysis indicates that composite developed at optimal conditions exhibits better thermal stability when compared with null ESP filler composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of nanomaterials as a strengthening agent in the fabrication of polymer nanocomposites has gained significant attention due to distinctive properties which can be utilised in structural applications. In this study, reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) and montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay were used as filler materials to fabricate hybrid epoxy-based nanocomposites. The synergistic effect of nanomaterials on flammability and mechanical behaviour of nanocomposites were studied. Results revealed that the addition of nanofiller showcases 97% and 44.5% improvement in tensile and flexural strength. However, an increment in the percentage of filler material over 0.3% exhibits a decremental mechanical property trend. Likewise, the addition of nanofiller increases the nonignition timing of the glass-fibre-reinforced epoxy composites. Fracture surface morphology displays the occurrence of the ductile fracture mechanism owing to the presence of hybrid fillers.

In this research, two natural fibers Red Sage Fiber (RSF) and Prosopis Juliflora Fiber (PJF) were extracted using water retting process and chemically treated for improving the properties. It was found with significant improvement in cellulose content for both RSF (60.75 %) and PJF (56.62 %) by NaOH treatment at 2 wt%. The surface treatment in natural fibers improved the tensile strength (TS) of RSF (133.4-161.8 MPa) and PJF (149.9-182.3 MPa). The Crystallinity index (Crl), Crystallite size (CrS) of 74.8 %, 4.3 nm was observed in vegetable waste filler (VWF) after acid and alkali treatments. The high concentration of fiber treatment (6 wt%) could create high porosity in the structure with surface deformations, decreasing the TS of PLA composites. The PJF up to 15 wt% increased the TS of composites from 50.24 to 51.71 MPa. All the combinations with PLA observed better TS than neat PLA. The incorporation of RSF (5-15 wt%) enhances the flexural strength (FS) (75.95-78 MPa). It was clearly observed significant reduction in water absorption property of PLA composites with increase in contact angle from 62° to 84° with treated filler., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)