Most developments in the area of natural fibre reinforced composites have focused on random discontinuous fibre composite systems. The development of continuous fibre reinforced composites is, however, essential for manufacturing materials, which can be used in load-bearing/structural applications. The current work aims to develop high-performance natural fibre composite systems for structural applications using continuous textile reinforcements like UD-tapes or woven fabrics. One of the main problems in this case is the optimisation of the yarn to be used to manufacture the textile reinforcement. Low twisted yarns display a very low strength when tested dry in air and therefore they cannot be used in processes such as pultrusion or textile manufacturing routes. On the other hand, by increasing the level of twist, a degradation of the mechanical properties is observed in impregnated yarns (e.g., unidirectional composites) similar to off-axis composites. Therefore, an optimum twist should be used to balance processability and mechanical properties. Subsequently, different types of fabrics (i.e., biaxial plain weaves, unidirectional fabrics and non-crimp fabrics) were produced and evaluated as reinforcement in composites manufactured by well established manufacturing techniques such as hand lay-up, vacuum infusion, pultrusion and resin transfer moulding (RTM). Clearly, as expected, the developed materials cannot directly compete in terms of strength with glass fibre composites. However, they are clearly able to compete with these materials

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The effect of accelerated UV‐aging on properties of PP/wood‐fiber composites has been studied. Plates containing 0, 25 and 50 wt% wood‐fibers were subjected to accelerated UV‐aging in a QUV weatherometer for up to 8 weeks. Stabilization against UV‐degradation was made by adding 3% of a UV stabilizer. The results showed that both the unfilled PP and the PP/wood‐fiber composites displayed good UV resistance with regard to mechanical properties. The color of the PP/wood‐fiber composite plates changed from brown to chalky white at the exposed area because of the formation of a thin, strongly degraded surface layer. Physical and chemical analysis of these surface layers using differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy showed that degradation of the PP matrix had occurred, leading to chemicrystallization and extensive surface cracking. A decrease in PP melting temperature was also noted, due to molecular chain scission and the formation of extraneous groups, such as carbonyls and hydroperoxides. These results indicate that the wood‐fibers act as chromophores when incorporated in the PP matrix. Increasing the fiber content from 25 to 50 wt% increases the rate of degradation of the PP matrix by approximately a factor of two. Polym. Compos. 25:543–553, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers.

Injection molded short natural fiber composites (NFC) are studied in this article. Micromechanical models are employed to investigate effects of fiber length distribution, fiber orientation, and fiber/matrix adhesion on mechanical performance of NFCs.A parametric study showed that length/diameter ratio strongly affects the composite strength, whereas fiber strength has very little influence on strength of the composites when fiber/matrix adhesion is poor. In order to verify conclusions based on theoretical predictions, modeling results are compared with experimental results of wood powder-, flax-, pulp-, and glass fiber composites.Recommendations on improvement of strength of NFC through change of the internal structure of the materials are formulated based on results of this investigation.

This paper investigates the utilization of commercial masterbatches of graphene nanoplatelets to improve the properties of neat polymer and wood fiber composites manufactured by conventional processing methods. The effect of aspect ratio of the graphene platelets (represented by the different number of layers in the nanoplatelet) on the properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is discussed. The composites were characterized for their mechanical properties (tensile, flexural, impact) and physical characteristics (morphology, crystallization, and thermal stability). The effect of the addition of nanoplatelets on the thermal conductivity and diffusivity of the reinforced polymer with different contents of reinforcement was also investigated. In general, the mechanical performance of the polymer was enhanced at the presence of either of the reinforcements (graphene or wood fiber). The improvement in mechanical properties of the nanocomposite was notable considering that no compatibilizer was used in the manufacturing. The use of a masterbatch can promote utilization of nano-modified polymer composites on an industrial scale without modification of the currently employed processing methods and facilities.