Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites: Recent Progress and Recycling

Dear Colleagues,

Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are lightweight, high-strength, and corrosion/mechanical-resistant, making them an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to conventional materials. In fabric form, they offer unprecedented flexibility since fibres can be oriented in such a way to provide strength in any given direction. It is possible to manipulate their constituents and synthetic procedures to tailor their functional properties to specific applications in construction, blue growth, aerospace, cultural heritage, remediation, biomedicine, sensing, and textiles.

Glass, combined with vinyl ester resin, is the most commonly used fibre, although carbon–epoxy products, comprising a polymer matrix strengthened with fibre, are rapidly becoming popular worldwide as  sustainable alternatives. This Special Issue will cover:

• Glass-fibre-reinforced polymers (GFRPs);
• Carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRPs);
• Aramid-fibre-reinforced polymers (AFRPs);
• Cellulosic-fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRPs). 

(FRPs) are biodegradable and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, as their international recognition and reputation as an ecologically sustainable product continues to grow, so do their uses and applications.

Based on recent studies, this Special Issue will provide an overview of FRPs, their characterization, classification, and main advantages relating to their physical and mechanical properties. The use of natural materials as constituents in the combination of matrix and reinforcement materials is necessary to create a material that is degradable as well as environmentally friendly. 

In addition, a complete review of the different techniques that have been developed to recycle FRP is presented. The issue also focuses on the reuse of valuable products recovered via different techniques, focusing on the way that fibres have been reincorporated into novel materials and applications and the main technological issues encountered in these processes. 

Prof. Dr. Tarek Abou Elmaaty
Prof. Dr. Irena Zizovic
Guest Editors

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