Development of sustainable automotive friction components via valorization of agro-waste from Ricinus communis/cashew nutshell/SiC hybrid polymer composites

Waste management plays a vital role in valorization of low-performance agricultural waste fibers into high-performance composites. This paves way for the minimization of waste build up and enhancing the sustainable ways for developing environmentally friendly products. The agro waste Ricinus communis (RC) fibers were mercerized with 4% NaOH solution, hybridized with cashew nutshell powder (CNSP) and silicon carbide (SiC) and hybrid composites were developed with constant CNSP content (10 wt%) and varying SiC content (2, 4 and 6 wt%) using hot compression moulding process. The physical, chemical, structural, thermal and tribological properties of the hybrid composite systems were experimentally analyzed. The XRD and FTIR analyses confirmed the improved crystallinity and interfacial interactions specifically for 2 and 4 wt% SiC filled composites. The thermal stability of 4 wt% SiC filled composite was relatively better with a lower residual mass and maximum degradation temperature Tribological properties of the hybrid composites were determined using a pin-on-disc apparatus in dry conditions and optimized using RSM based techniques with Taguchi’s L27 design of experiments. The RSM and ANOVA results indicated minimal wear and stable friction in 2 and 4 wt% SiC filled composites. Morphological analysis using SEM depicted that the composites with 4 wt.% of SiC exhibited relatively smoother worn surface with minimal surface abnormalities portraying the better interfacial adhesion. Such low density and sustainable composites find their applications as friction components in industrial wear and automotive applications.