Influence of Rice Husk Particles on Mechanical and Vibration Damping Characteristics of Roto-Molded Polyethylene Composites

Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) is one of the most widely used thermoplastics in the roto-molding (RM) process. This energy-intensive and costly method can be replaced by adding filler particles to LLDPE for enhancing the mechanical and vibration-damping characteristics. This study focuses on the behavior of Rice Husk (RH) particles as effective reinforcement on roto-molded LLDPE. The LLDPE-RH composites were molded and tested for modal analysis, mechanical characterization, and morphological properties. Experimental modal analysis (EMA) results proved that the incorporation of RH improves the natural frequency of the composites. The mechanical characterization results conclude that the strength of the roto-molded LLDPE composite is maximum at 10% rice husk (RH) addition by weight. Morphological characterization was conducted on the fractured surface of the tensile specimen using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Void formation is found to be more at higher RH content which leads to poor mechanical properties.