The purpose of this research is to develop new polymeric composite materials from the flamboyant pod (Delonix Regia), an agricultural waste, with polyester as a matrix and to investigate their properties and application areas. The flamboyant pod particles of 75 μm were incorporated into the polyester resin with different loadings of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 wt%. The influence of the pod particles on mechanical and morphological properties was determined and investigated. The results showed that 10 wt.% gave the best results for tensile, impact, and flexural properties with values of 40.6 MPa, 4.6 kJ/mm2, and 86.82 MPa respectively, the values are however lower than the unfilled. The hardness properties increased with increasing filler loadings with values from 23.8 HV - 32.7 HV for 10 wt% - 50 wt% respectively. The micrographs of the fractured impact samples confirmed the 10 wt% filler loading having the best properties with homogenous dispersion of the flamboyant pod particles (FPP) within the polyester resin. It can be concluded that lightweight composites with reasonable properties have been developed at 10 wt % loading which is suitable for non-load bearing and indoor applications in the automotive and building industries as partition tops, walls, and boards owing to their saturation in water after 30 days of immersion. The flamboyant pod material can be further explored for added values with tougher polymer matrices.
Keywords: Composites; Flamboyant pod; Mechanical properties; Polyester resin.
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