Abstract Natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites are valued for being lightweight, renewable, and sustainable, making them suitable for structural applications. These composites often have limited mechanical strength and thermal stability. This study investigates the effect of adding rice husk ash as a microfiller on jute fiber–reinforced polyester composites. Composites were fabricated with a constant jute fiber content of 30 wt.% and rice husk ash loadings of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt.% and evaluated for hardness, impact strength, tensile, flexural, interlaminar shear properties, thermal stability, and fracture surface morphology. The results showed a progressive improvement in mechanical properties with increasing rice husk ash content, with the 20 wt.% rice husk ash composite showing the highest hardness of 79.33, impact strength of 2.77 J, tensile strength of 29.65 MPa, flexural strength of 48.16 MPa, and interlaminar shear strength of 12.54 MPa. Thermal analysis confirmed improved thermal stability, and scanning electron microscopy revealed enhanced fiber–matrix adhesion and reduced voids. These findings indicate that rice husk ash effectively enhances the mechanical and thermal performance of jute fiber–reinforced polyester composites, providing a practical approach to develop lightweight, strong, and thermally stable materials for engineering applications.
Murugan et al. (Mon,) studied this question.