A comprehensive review on plant‐based natural fiber reinforced polymer composites: Fabrication, properties, and applications

Abstract

Natural fiber‐reinforced polymer composites (NFPCs) have gained limelight in many applications during the recent years, owing to their availability, as well as superior mechanical characteristics, cost‐effectiveness, biodegradability, and lightweight. A comprehensive understanding of the manufacturing methods, proeprties and characteristics of natural fibers pave way for begetting a wide spectrum of applications for the NFPCs in automobile, aerospace, electronics, and other engineering fields. The current review article is about natural fiber‐reinforced composites, the commonly used fabrication methods, including fiber pre‐treatments, and numerous intermediate steps added to achieve improved bonding, processability of these composites, their properties and application prospects. Various state‐of‐the‐art methods like additive manufacturing, vaccum bag molding, and autoclave has also been discussed. The mechanical properties obtained through various fiber reinforcements in accordance with process parameters has a substantial impact in the industrial applications of NFPCs. The tribological applications of NFPCs are becoming increasingly important in order to deal with the mechanical and chemical wear and tear during their service life in contact applications. Flammability behavior and biodegradability assessment of NFPCs are important for high‐temperature and outdoor environmental applications of these materials. The review also includes a comprehensive discussion about the trending applications and future prospects for NFPCs.

Synthesis and thermomechanical properties of bioplastics and biocomposites: a systematic review

“…131 Various studies have pointed out that starch and glycogen are more like commercial corn starch in many aspects such as swelling power, size of granules, the content of amylopectin/ amylose, turbidity, and solubility. 132,133 The production of bioplastics from starch and glycogen has been reported to be more feasible since the bioplastics are completely biodegradable. Bioplastics from starch and glycogen are extracted from the cells of the biomass through various methods such as beadbeating, ultrasonication, and other physicochemical methods such as acid and alkaline hydrolysis using H 2 SO 4 , HCl, and NaOH.…”

Machinability analysis of Typha angustifolia natural fiber reinforced composites through experimental modeling – Influence of fiber orientation

“…It was stated in a few works of literature that 0 /90 orientation was very much effective in rendering better mechanical, thermal and machinability properties. [14,15] But, such orientation increases the anisotropy of the composite materials and hence they fall into the hard-to-machine category of materials. When such hard-to-machine materials are subjected to machining operations such as drilling, failure of those materials might occur through cracks, delamination, swelling and fiber pullout due to their non-homogenous and anisotropic nature.…”

Investigation on the effect of castor‐oil based bio‐resins on mechanical, visco‐elastic, and water diffusion properties of flax fiber reinforced epoxy composites

“…[ 6 ] Automobile parts built of flax fiber reinforced composite have superior sound absorption capabilities and less weight, boosting vehicle fuel economy. [ 7–9 ]…”

“…[6] Automobile parts built of flax fiber reinforced composite have superior sound absorption capabilities and less weight, boosting vehicle fuel economy. [7][8][9] Petro-based thermosetting resins, particularly epoxy, are extensively used in the fabrication of polymer matrix composite materials due to their remarkable properties. These properties include minimal shrinkage during curing, corrosion resistance, high modulus, excellent adhesion, and impressive performance at elevated temperatures, making them highly desirable in composite manufacturing.…”