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High-Performance Biocomposite Reinforced by Natural Fibers II

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A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Fibers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2023) | Viewed by 22807

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Antonio Pantano

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Guest Editor

Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: computational mechanics; composite materials; mechanical design; numerical methods for engineering; mechanical engineering aspects of micro/nanoscale engineering; non-destructive evaluation; wind turbines; biomimetic
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Bernardo Zuccarello

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Guest Editor

Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: biocomposites reinforced by natural fibers; hybrid joints between metals and composites materials; implementation and characterization of innovative sandwich structures; residual stress analysis by mechanical methods; strain measurement by electrical strain gauges
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thanks to a growing appreciation of environmental protection, as well as recent laws against the production pollution of synthetic materials, great attention is now being devoted to eco-compatible composite materials consisting of a sustainable or renewable matrix reinforced by natural fibers. Compared with synthetic fibers, natural fibers (purposely grown and harvested or recovered from agricultural waste) can be combined to produce materials with remarkable mechanical properties and very low greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, the use of green or biobased polymers reinforced by natural fibers (biocomposites) is growing strongly in many industrial fields. This is particularly true in the automotive sector, but also in civil construction and naval production. German carmakers, followed soon after by manufacturers in other countries, were the first to introduce natural fiber composites for interior and exterior applications—door panels, parcel shelves, seat cushions, dashboard parts, backrests, etc. In civil construction, natural fiber composites can be used as substitutes for metals such as steel and aluminum in the manufacturing of beams, building panels, roofing products, autoclaved cement composites, etc. Conversely, for ship building, green composites could represent a valid substitute for fiberglass. Fortunately, several types of natural fibers that can be used as reinforcements, such as agave, hemp, flax, kenaf, and many more, are abundantly available in the current market, and the development of new crops is not necessary. In order to improve the mechanical performance of these biocomposites, several authors have proposed particular fiber treatments or, more recently, the introduction of low volume fractions of micro- and/or nanofillers. However, to date, few works have been devoted to these more recent approaches, including the accurate analysis of their behavior under various loading conditions (fatigue, impact, wear, etc.) and the corresponding aging process under the main environmental agents (temperature, moisture, and ultra-violet light). In addition, their hybridization with synthetic fibers (carbon/glass) or other natural fibers aimed at optimizing specific characteristics such as impact, wear, and aging need further study.

In this Special Issue, modern trends in high-performance biocomposites reinforced by natural fibers, with or without the addition of micro- or nanofillers, will be highlighted and discussed, including their processing, properties, modeling, and applications.

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Dr. Antonio Pantano
Prof. Dr. Bernardo Zuccarello
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 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.

Keywords

natural fibers
composites
processing
modeling
hybridization
mechanical properties
fatigue properties
impact properties
aging
wear
thermomechanical properties
viscoelastic properties
electrical properties

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 4216 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bio-Polyethylene Composites Based on Sugar Cane and Curauá Fiber: An Experimental Study

by Gustavo Henrique de Almeida Barbalho, José Jefferson da Silva Nascimento, Lucineide Balbino da Silva, Ricardo Soares Gomez, Daniel Oliveira de Farias, Diego David Silva Diniz, Rosilda Sousa Santos, Maria José de Figueiredo and Antonio Gilson Barbosa de Lima

Polymers 2023, 15(6), 1369; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15061369 - 09 Mar 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1852

Abstract

For the purpose of renewable materials applications, Curauá fiber treated with 5% sodium hydroxide was added to high-density biopolyethylene, using an entirely Brazilian raw material of sugarcane ethanol. Polyethylene grafted with maleic anhydride was used as a compatibilizer. With the addition of curauá fiber, the crystallinity was reduced, possibly due to interactions in the crystalline matrix. A positive thermal resistance effect was observed for the maximum degradation temperatures of the biocomposites. When curauá fiber was added (5% by weight), the morphology showed interfacial adhesion, greater energy storage and damping capacity. Although curauá fiber additions did not affect the yield strength of high-density bio polyethylene, its fracture toughness improved. With the addition of curauá fiber (5% by weight), the fracture strain was greatly reduced to about 52%, the impact strength was also reduced, suggesting a reinforcing effect. Concomitantly, the modulus and the maximum bending stress, as well as the Shore D hardness of the curauá fiber biocomposites (at 3 and 5% by weight), were improved. Two important aspects of product viability were achieved. First, there was no change in processability and, second, with the addition of small amounts of curauá fiber, there was a gain in the specific properties of the biopolymer. The resulting synergies can help ensure more sustainable and environmentally friendly manufacturing of automotive products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Performance Biocomposite Reinforced by Natural Fibers II)

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20 pages, 4354 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fire Resistance Evaluation of Concrete Beams and Slabs Incorporating Natural Fiber-Reinforced Polymers

by Venkatesh Kodur, Svetha Venkatachari, Pratik Bhatt, Vasant A. Matsagar and Shamsher Bahadur Singh

Polymers 2023, 15(3), 755; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15030755 - 02 Feb 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1735

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical study to evaluate the fire resistance of concrete beams and slabs incorporating natural fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP). A validated finite element model was applied to carry out a series of numerical studies on fire-exposed reinforced concrete (RC) beams and slabs strengthened with conventional and bio-based FRP composites. The model calculates the temperature-dependent moment–curvature relationship for various segments of the member at each time step, which are then used to calculate the moment capacity and deflection of the member. The variables in the beams and slabs include different strengthening techniques (externally bonded FRP and near-surface mounted FRP), different fiber composites, and fire insulation schemes (uninsulated and insulated). The results from the study indicate that the bio-based FRP-strengthened RC members undergo a faster degradation in moment capacity and also experience higher deflections under fire exposure. This leads to a lower fire resistance in RC members with bio-based FRP composites compared to beams and slabs with conventional FRP-strengthened concrete members. The addition of fire insulation to the bio-based FRP-strengthened members can enhance their fire performance and help achieve the required fire resistance ratings for use in building applications. In this study, the NSM CFRP-strengthened RC beams were found to have a fire resistance of 3 h without any fire insulation; however, the bio-based FRP-strengthened beams required a layer of vermiculite–gypsum-based fire insulation material (of about 25 mm) to achieve similar fire resistance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Performance Biocomposite Reinforced by Natural Fibers II)

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15 pages, 10512 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Recycled Multi-Material Packaging Reinforced with Flax Fibres: Thermal and Mechanical Behaviour

by Irene Bavasso, Claudia Sergi, Teodoro Valente, Jacopo Tirillò and Fabrizio Sarasini

Polymers 2022, 14(20), 4423; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14204423 - 19 Oct 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1732

Abstract

In this work, the use of a recycled mix stemming from the treatment of multilayer aseptic packaging used in the food and beverage industry is proposed as the matrix for short fibre composites reinforced with flax fibres, to generate value-added materials in contrast to the more common end-of-life scenario including energy recovery. This is expected to be a preferred choice in the waste hierarchy at the European level. A commercially available material (EcoAllene) obtained from multilayer packaging recycling was compounded with short flax fibres up to 30 wt.% by twin screw extrusion, with a view to enhancing its poor mechanical profile and broadening its applications. Composites were in depth analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry, which highlighted the complex nature of this recycled product, a limited nucleation ability of flax fibres and a lower thermal stability due to the premature degradation of natural hemicellulose and cellulose, though featuring in any case onset degradation temperatures higher than 300 °C. Composites’ mechanical properties were assessed in tension, bending and impact conditions, with remarkable improvements over the neat matrix in terms of stiffness and strength. In particular, at 30 wt.% fibre content and with 5 wt.% of maleated coupling agent, an increase in tensile and flexural strength values by 92% and 138% was achieved, respectively, without compromising the impact strength. The effectiveness of flax fibres confirmed by dynamo-mechanical analysis is beneficial to the exploitation of these composites in automotive interiors and outdoor decking applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Performance Biocomposite Reinforced by Natural Fibers II)

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Review

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36 pages, 57873 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review on Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites (NFRPC) for Sustainable Industrial Applications

by Siti Hasnah Kamarudin, Mohd Salahuddin Mohd Basri, Marwah Rayung, Falah Abu, So’bah Ahmad, Mohd Nurazzi Norizan, Syaiful Osman, Norshahida Sarifuddin, Mohd Shaiful Zaidi Mat Desa, Ummi Hani Abdullah, Intan Syafinaz Mohamed Amin Tawakkal and Luqman Chuah Abdullah

Polymers 2022, 14(17), 3698; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14173698 - 05 Sep 2022

Cited by 77 | Viewed by 17050

Abstract

The depletion of petroleum-based resources and the adverse environmental problems, such as pollution, have stimulated considerable interest in the development of environmentally sustainable materials, which are composed of natural fiber–reinforced polymer composites. These materials could be tailored for a broad range of sustainable industrial applications with new surface functionalities. However, there are several challenges and drawbacks, such as composites processing production and fiber/matrix adhesion, that need to be addressed and overcome. This review could provide an overview of the technological challenges, processing techniques, characterization, properties, and potential applications of NFRPC for sustainable industrial applications. Interestingly, a roadmap for NFRPC to move into Industry 4.0 was highlighted in this review. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Performance Biocomposite Reinforced by Natural Fibers II)

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