Tensile and morphological properties of PMMA composite reinforced by Pistachio Shell powder used in denture applications

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of Pistachio Shell powder on some properties of (heat-cure) PMMA acrylic resin that’s popularly used as denture base material, where this natural powder had been add in different weight fraction (3, 6, 9, and 12 wt. %) and different average particle size (53μm, 106μm, 150μm, and 212μm). Tensile and SEM test had been studied, the results where statistically analyzed by using SPSS (one-way ANOVA) program to evaluate the mean value and show the significant difference for each particle size. The results were as the following: the tensile strength and elongation percentage were dropped with increasing the weight the weight of Pistachio Shell powder, while the Young’s modulus had been increased with increasing the weight fraction of Pistachio Shell powder and reached its maximum value at (12 wt. %) of average particle size (53μm). SEM results show that the smoothness of fractured surface will increase and that is suggesting a brittle to semi ductile transformation.