NATURAL FIBER THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES

NORMA E. MARCOVICH; MARÍA M. REBOREDO; MIRTA I. ARANGUREN

Second Edition Handbook of Thermoplastics

CRC Press

Lugar: No indicado; Año: 2015; p. 725 - 750

Increasing environmental awareness throughout the world has greatly impacted materials engineering and design. Renewed interest in the utilization of natural materials addresses ecological issues such as recyclability and environmental safety (Kabir et al. 2012). Therefore, this century has witnessed remarkable achievements in green technology in the field of materials science through thedevelopment of natural fiber composites (Faruk et al. 2012).Natural fibers are renewable resources, abundantly available, especially in tropical areas. On the other hand, their poor dimensional stability, cracking, and degradation of mechanical properties due to moisture uptake conspire against the durability and reliability of their performance. Natural-reinforced plastics offer an attractive alternative for cost-effective applications; however, severe limitations are imposed due to their low strength and modulus. Traditionally, wood flour?filled molding compounds have been extensively used for products, such as panhandles, electricmeter cases, and parts of cars. In addition, natural fiber?reinforced composites are particularly suited to structural and decorative applications in the transport, marine, offshore, and construction industries (Aranguren and Reboredo 2007). The composites? shape, surface appearance, environmental tolerance, and overall durability are dominated by the matrix, while the fibrous reinforcement carries most of the structural load, thus providing macroscopic stiffness and strength (Faruk et al. 2012). As industry attempts to lessen the dependence on petroleum-based fuels and products, there is an increasing need to investigatemore environmentally friendly, sustainable materials to replace the existing ones. Reinforcement of composites with plant fibers has the potential to decrease component weight relative to glass fiber reinforcement, reduce cost of materials relative to carbon fiber reinforcement, and significantly increase the fraction of composite components from a renewable source.