Lightweighting studies of vehicles have gained great importance in recent years due to strict emission regulations and goals of more sustainable manufacturing. One of the solutions to produce lighter vehicles is to employ lighter alternative materials such as composites instead of conventional materials. Composite materials are generally fabricated with reinforcement of a matrix material with synthetic fibers such as glass, carbon, and aramid, but recently there is a great interest in natural fibers to substitute the synthetic fibers with biobased material which has the advantages of being green, biodegradable, renewable, and more sustainable. Thus, especially for automotive components, there are many studies to employ natural fibers instead of synthetic fibers. In this study, the recent studies on applications of natural fibers in automotive composites have been reviewed. The review study revealed that natural fibers are viable alternatives to synthetic ones and they are expected to be used more in near future.
In this study, waste tire rubber granules were used as filler material for the fabrication of polymer matrix composite samples. The polyester resin which is one of the most preferred matrix materials and recycled waste tire rubber granules were combined at varying ratios with the open molding method. The samples were characterized experimentally by conducting tensile and hardness tests. The morphological properties of the specimens were examined with scanning electron microscope images. The study revealed that the addition of untreated waste tire rubber granules to polyester resin decreases the tensile and yield strength values, while it causes to increase in elongation and ductility of the material. The morphological examinations showed that waste rubber granules and polyester resin have poor interfacial adhesion and thus the waste rubber granules should be properly treated to be used as filler material. The study indicated that waste tire rubber granule/polyester composites can be used for non-structural applications with the benefits of using less fossil sourced raw materials and contributing to the decrement of environmental pollution.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.