Effect of Rice Husks as Filler in Polymer Matrix Composites

In this study, rice husks filler polyester composites were produced with rice husks (RH)
as filler and unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) as the matrix. Several percentage of filler
loadings were used (10, 15, 20 and 25 wt %) in order to gain insights into the effect of
filler content on the mechanical properties and water intake of the composites. From the
results, the tensile strength of the RH filled UPR composites found to be decrease as the
filler loading increase. However, as it increases to 25 wt %, the strength shows
moderately increase. As for the young modulus, it shows remarkable increase for 15
wt% of RH and decreasing as the RH continually increase up to 25 wt %. Water
absorption test was conducted and the results showed that the composites absorb more
water as the weight percentage of RH increased, which attributed to the ability of RH
fillers to absorb water.