Effect of eggshell powder on polyvinyl ester composite: A statistical correlation on mechanical strength.

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]