Polymer composite material developed from waste polymer by Indian students

22-Apr-16

A team of students from Global Institutes of Management and Emerging Technologies (GIMET) has developed a composite material from waste polymer, which will be effective in making stronger helmets, car bumpers and windmill blades. Students and faculty of the Mechanical Engineering Department of the institute achieved the milestone by developing a composite material using waste polymer. “This is perhaps the first innovation of its kind, which is created by waste, including shavings of polymer such as PVC pipes etc,” claimed Prof Vijay Bhanot, associate professor, Mechanical Engineering. The new type of composite material was developed by Angel Bajaj, Amrojpreet Singh, Amritpal Singh, Amoldeep Singh and Amritjot Singh, fourth year students of the MET, under the guidance of Prof Vijay Bhanot. Talking about the material created, Prof Vijay said, “Major components of the polymer material are PVC waste, hardener, binder, lubricant and metal sheets for preparation of dyes etc.” Explaining about the technicalities of such material in global use, Prof Bhanot said, “Nine samples were designed by crushing PVC wastage into 850, 600, 425 microns and these were mixed with different compositions of hardener and binder. After the solidification of the samples, they were tested for surface roughness, tensile strength, compressive load and impact load. The testing was carried out by CIPET.” Results found that the composite material could be used at various levels. It could be used for manufacturing car bumpers and helmets. It was ideal material for interiors, home decorations, domestic, office and outdoor furniture also.