Mechanical behavior of 3D-printed rice husk reinforced recycled high density polyethylene composite.

Waste disposal is indeed a challenge, and today modern greatest challenge is coming up with new strategies to utilize these residues. 3D printing technology had imparted various advantages such as high precision, reduction in polymer waste, and cost-effectiveness. Rice husk (RH), an agricultural waste with factors such as low cost, high availability, and sustainable show great potential for reinforcing polymer composite. Since high-density polyethylene (HDPE) accounts for most of the plastic waste, integrating RH reinforced recycled HDPE into the 3D printing context is another step toward reducing waste. This research investigates the influence of RH loading on the physical, mechanical, and morphological of sustainable 3D printing filaments made of rHDPE/RH. The density of the composite showed a reduction with the addition of RH fibre, indicating the opportunity to produce lightweight applications. Mechanical tests showed that tensile strength decreases with increasing RH loading, mainly due to the increasing presence of void, and the possibility of poor interfacial bonding at high fibre loading. Young's modulus and compressive strength increase, indicating the printed parts with the composite exhibit relatively stiffer and ductile properties. Furthermore, increasing RH loading has presented lower warping and shrinkage for the 3D printed specimen as compared to virgin rHDPE printed specimen. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show that the RH fibre was well dispersed throughout the rHDPE matrix, but with a large amount of void presence. Overall, the rHDPE/RH printed composites incorporated with favourable properties, good surface quality, low density, and cost-effectiveness show great potential in applying for additive manufacturing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]