Polymeric Fiber-Reinforced Composites: Novel Applications

Dear Colleagues,

One of the most important stages in the development of textile technologies is the invention of effective methods of processing synthetic polymers into the form of fibers. The history of this invention goes back to the 1930s, when the first attempts were made to manufacture synthetic nylon fibers. In a short time, effective technologies for the processing of polyesters, acrylics and polyolefins were also developed. The development of fully synthetic varieties of fibers was preceded by the invention of effective methods of treating cellulose. Rayon fibers, despite their biogenic origin, are characterized by better mechanical properties and durability compared to natural fibers.

Due to numerous changes in the morphology of the polymer structure during the spinning process, materials in the form of fibers are characterized by significantly better mechanical performance than base polymers processed by other techniques. The mechanical strength of the fibers obviously leads to attempts to use these properties in many areas of production. The best example here is the use of polymer fibers for the production of anti-ballistic fabrics, where aramid or polyethylene fibers are used. However, the use of polymer fibers as composite reinforcement is still not widely carried out. At present, the standard in the processing of polymer composites is the use of glass fibers (GF), and less often carbon fibers (CF), with cured epoxy or polyester resin. This combination provides high strength and stiffness, while a major drawback is brittleness. The practice of using two-component fabrics containing polymer fibers and glass/carbon fibers shows that the methods of hybridization of composite reinforcement bring excellent results. Synthetic polymer fibers can bridge the gap between different groups of materials, offering a low density similar to natural fibers and repeatable properties similar to mineral fibers.

The use of synthetic fibers as reinforcement for thermoplastic materials is one of the novel directions in the development of polymer composites. Due to their low density, the use of polymeric fibers does not increase the weight of composite products; additionally, materials of this type are characterized by very high impact strength. The concept of all-polymer composites has great potential; however, a considerable challenge is still the development of effective methods of producing this type of material.

This Special Issue will include manuscripts focused on the use of polymeric fibers in composite applications. Full papers, communications and reviews are all welcome. Topics of the proposed submissions may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• New methods of composite processing, for both thermoplastic and thermoset-based materials;
• Modification of polymer fibers for use as composite reinforcement;
• New types of single-polymer composites, manufacturing methods and structure modifications;
• The structure–property correlations during the use of polymer fibers in hybrid systems;
• Surface modification of polymeric fibers;
• Recycling of fabric waste during the processing of composite materials;
• New types of lightweight structures using polymeric fibers.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue.

Dr. Jacek Andrzejewski
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• polymeric fibers
• reinforced composites
• hybrid materials
• self-reinforced composites
• single-polymer composites
• mechanical performance
• flexible manufacturing
• lightweight structures
• fibrous reinforcement