Many academic studies continue to conclude that natural fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites (NFTCs) have some potential to compete with mineral/inorganic fiber and filler reinforced composites in certain applications due to their distinctive characteristics. NFTCs are often presented as a more environmentally friendly product which may, in some cases, offer useful levels of specific strength and stiffness with an overall reduced carbon footprint. However, from an end-use composite performance viewpoint, issues with impact resistance (notched and un-notched) continue to hold back the large-scale implementation of these composites. This paper presents a review of the recent work on impact properties of NFTCs, analysing the effects of fundamental composite parameters and potential routes to improvement.

EuroCirCol is a conceptual design study of a post-LHC, Future Circular Hadron Collider (FCC-hh) which aims to expand the current energy and luminosity frontiers. The vacuum chamber of this 100 TeV, 100 km collider, will have to cope with unprecedented levels of synchrotron radiation linear power for proton colliders, 160 times higher than in the LHC for baseline parameters, releasing consequently much larger amounts of gas into the system. At the same time, it will be dealing with a tighter magnet aperture. In order to reach a good vacuum level, it has been necessary to find solutions beyond the particle colliders' state of art. This paper proposes a design of a novel beam screen, the element responsible for absorbing the emitted power. It is intended to overcome the drawbacks derived from the stronger synchrotron radiation while allowing at the same time a good beam quality.

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It is often suggested that optimization of the fibre-matrix interfacial adhesion is essential to improve the mechanical performance of natural fibre reinforced thermoplastic compounds. The use of such composites in many applications often requires characterisation of performance over a range of temperatures. This paper presents a study on the measurements of the interfacial adhesion of coir fibre with various polyolefin matrices at room temperature. We then present a novel adaptation of a dynamical mechanical analyser to enable the measurement of interfacial shear strength over the temperature range of −40°C to 120°C. Results from these measurements are presented and discussed in terms of the relationship of apparent IFSS to residual thermal stresses in such thermoplastic composites.