Usability of Pine Sawdust and Calcite Together as Filler in Polyester Composites

Abstract

Two different types of fillers are used in composites, natural and synthetic. Natural fillers
are gaining popularity as an alternative to synthetic fillers due to low production cost,
lightweight, and abundance of renewable resources. Although thermoplastics are widely
used as matrix material in natural fillers-filled composite materials, there are thermoset
polymers such as epoxy and polyester. The most known and used natural-organic fillers
are wood sawdust and fibres. Wood sawdust can be obtained easily and cheaply as waste
in furniture production and is generally used after appropriate sieving. In this study,
general-purpose polyester resin was preferred as matrix material. Calcite and pine wood
sawdust are used as fillers. Calcite is used as a synthetic filler and pine wood sawdust is
a natural filler and can be found easily. Thus, the usability of natural and synthetic fillers
together was investigated. Composite samples were prepared by pouring the mixture into
an open Teflon mold. The physical properties of the samples such as tensile, impact,
density, and hardness were investigated. Images of broken surfaces were analysed by
SEM. As a result of the study, it was evaluated that pine sawdust and calcite can be used
together in polyester-based composite applications.