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High Performance Natural Fibre Composites

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Composites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2021) | Viewed by 25626

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Darshil U. Shah

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Guest Editor

Senior Research Associate, Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Interests: natural fibre composites; bioinspiration & biomimetics; structure-property-processing relations; damage and composite health; design education

Assoc. Prof. Mike Clifford

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Guest Editor

Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
Interests: sustainable and appropriate technologies; natural fibre composites; biomass cookstoves; engineering education

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue (SI) publishes original research articles, review articles, and short communications covering the design, manufacture and performance of natural fibre composites intended for (semi-) structural applications. Semi-structural components can self-support their own weight, while structural components can also withstand additional loads. The SI aims to reflect the design possibilities with natural fibre composites, inspiring the creation of next-generation biocomposite products beyond conventional automotive interior components and house decking.

Articles with a focus on biocomposites incorporating long fibre lengths (>15mm) or aligned fibre architectures (e.g. UD, biaxials) are invited. Natural fibres of interest include, but are not limited to, bast fibres, like flax and hemp, sisal and coir, as well as silk fibres. The SI especially invites studies involving bio-based matrices, however synthetic resins may also fit the scope.

We welcome reports from innovative ‘prototyping’ and ‘design, make and test’ projects. For instance, these may explore stiffness-limited, strength-limited, or vibration-limited design. We also seek cross-comparative studies validating or evaluating the performance of biocomposites against other conventional materials (e.g. glass fibre composites, aluminium, laminated wood). Computational and analytical manuscripts are of interest provided they are design or product oriented.

Dr. Darshil U. Shah
Assoc. Prof. Mike Clifford
Guest Editors

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Keywords

natural fibre composites
plant fibres
silk
structural applications
design & manufacture
structural analysis

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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27 pages, 9903 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Novel Low-Twist Bast Fibre Yarns from Flax Tow for High-Performance Composite Applications

by Nina Graupner, Karl-Heinz Lehmann, David E. Weber, Hans-Willi Hilgers, Erik G. Bell, Isabel Walenta, Luisa Berger, Torsten Brückner, Kay Kölzig, Herbert Randerath, Albert Bruns, Bernd Frank, Maik Wonneberger, Marc Joulian, Lisa Bruns, Friedrich von Dungern, Alexander Janßen, Thomas Gries, Stefan Kunst and Jörg Müssig

Materials 2021, 14(1), 105; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14010105 - 29 Dec 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4082

Abstract

The use of natural fibres for components subjected to higher mechanical requirements tends to be limited by the high price of high-quality semi-finished products. Therefore, the present study deals with the development of more cost-effective staple fibre yarns made from flax tow. In the subsequent processing stage, the yarns were processed into quasi-unidirectional (UD) fabrics. The results of the fibre characterisation along the process chain have shown that no significant mechanical fibre damage occurs after slivers’ production. Fibres prepared from yarns and fabrics show comparable characteristics. The yarns were processed to composites by pultrusion to verify the reinforcement effect. The mechanical properties were comparable to those of composites made from a high-quality UD flax roving. The fabrics were industrially processed into composite laminates using a vacuum infusion and an autoclave injection process (vacuum injection method in an autoclave). While impact strength compared to a reference laminate based on the UD flax roving was achieved, tensile and flexural properties were not reached. An analysis showed that the staple fibre yarns in the fabric show an undulation, leading to a reorientation of the fibres and lower characteristic values, which show 86–92% of the laminate made from the flax roving. Hybrid laminates with outer glass and inner flax layers were manufactured for the intended development of a leaf spring for the bogie of a narrow-gauge railroad as a demonstrator. The hybrid composites display excellent mechanical properties and showed clear advantages over a pure glass fibre-reinforced composite in lightweight construction potential, particularly flexural stiffness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Natural Fibre Composites)

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16 pages, 4046 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mechanical Properties of Flax Tape-Reinforced Thermoset Composites

by Forkan Sarkar, Mahmudul Akonda and Darshil U. Shah

Materials 2020, 13(23), 5485; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13235485 - 01 Dec 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2360

Abstract

Three thermoset resin systems—bio-epoxy, epoxy, and polyester-with 30 v% flax fiber reinforcement have been studied to identify the optimal fiber–resin combination in a typical composite structure. Tensile, interface and interlaminar shear strength together with flexural and impact damage tolerance were compared in this study. The results revealed that mechanical and interfacial properties were not significantly affected by the different resin systems. Microscopy studies reveal that epoxy laminates predominantly fail by fibre linear breakage, polyester laminates by fiber pull-out, and bio-epoxy laminates by a combination of the two. The higher failure strains and pull-out mechanism may explain the better impact damage tolerance of polyester composites. Flow experiments were also conducted, revealing faster impregnation and lower void content with polyester resin, followed by bio-epoxy, due to their lower viscosities. Overall, bio-epoxy resin demonstrates comparable performance to epoxy and polyester resins for use in (semi-)structural bio-composites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Natural Fibre Composites)

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16 pages, 6108 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mechanical Performance of Unstitched and Silk Fiber-Stitched Woven Kenaf Fiber-Reinforced Epoxy Composites

by Yasir Khaleel Kirmasha, Mohaiman J. Sharba, Zulkiflle Leman and Mohamed Thariq Hameed Sultan

Materials 2020, 13(21), 4801; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13214801 - 28 Oct 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2071

Abstract

Fiber composites are known to have poor through-thickness mechanical properties due to the absence of a Z-direction binder. This issue is more critical with the use of natural fibers due to their low strength compared to synthetic fibers. Stitching is a through-thickness toughening method that is used to introduce fibers in the Z-direction, which will result in better through-thickness mechanical properties. This research was carried out to determine the mechanical properties of unstitched and silk fiber-stitched woven kenaf-reinforced epoxy composites. The woven kenaf mat was stitched with silk fiber using a commercial sewing machine. The specimens were fabricated using a hand lay-up method. Three specimens were fabricated, one unstitched and two silk-stitched with deferent stitching orientations. The results show that the stitched specimens have comparable in-plane mechanical properties to the unstitched specimens. For the tensile mechanical test, stitched specimens show similar and 17.1% higher tensile strength compared to the unstitched specimens. The flexural mechanical test results show around a 9% decrease in the flexural strength for the stitched specimens. On the other hand, the Izod impact mechanical test results show a significant improvement of 33% for the stitched specimens, which means that stitching has successfully improved the out-of-plane mechanical properties. The outcome of this research indicates that the stitched specimens have better mechanical performance compared to the unstitched specimens and that the decrease in the flexural strength is insignificant in contrast with the remarkable enhancement in the impact strength. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Natural Fibre Composites)

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10 pages, 4073 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rendering Wood Veneers Flexible and Electrically Conductive through Delignification and Electroless Ni Plating

by Minfeng Chen, Weijun Zhou, Jizhang Chen and Junling Xu

Materials 2019, 12(19), 3198; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12193198 - 29 Sep 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2461

Abstract

Wood has unique advantages. However, the rigid structure and intrinsic insulating nature of wood limit its applications. Herein, a two-step process is developed to render wood veneers conductive and flexible. In the first step, most of the lignin and hemicellulose in the wood veneer are removed by hydrothermal treatment. In the second step, electroless Ni plating and subsequent pressing are carried out. The obtained Ni-plated veneer is flexible and bendable, and has a high tensile strength of 21.9 and 4.4 MPa along and across the channel direction, respectively, the former of which is considerably higher than that of carbon cloth and graphene foam. Moreover, this product exhibits high electrical conductivity around 1.1 × 10³ S m⁻¹, which is comparable to that of carbon cloth and graphene foam, and significantly outperforms previously reported wood-based conductors. This work reveals an effective strategy to transform cheap and renewable wood into a high value-added product that rivals expensive carbon cloth and graphene foam. The obtained product is particularly promising as a current collector for flexible and wearable electrochemical energy storage devices such as supercapacitors and Li-ion batteries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Natural Fibre Composites)

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17 pages, 2890 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Mechanical, Physical, and Morphological Properties of Epoxy Composites Reinforced with Different Date Palm Fillers

by Basheer A. Alshammari, Naheed Saba, Majed D. Alotaibi, Mohammed F. Alotibi, Mohammad Jawaid and Othman Y. Alothman

Materials 2019, 12(13), 2145; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12132145 - 03 Jul 2019

Cited by 67 | Viewed by 5745

Abstract

The present study deals with the fabrication of epoxy composites reinforced with 50 wt% of date palm leaf sheath (G), palm tree trunk (L), fruit bunch stalk (AA), and leaf stalk (A) as filler by the hand lay-up technique. The developed composites were characterized and compared in terms of mechanical, physical and morphological properties. Mechanical tests revealed that the addition of AA improves tensile (20.60–40.12 MPa), impact strength (45.71–99.45 J/m), flexural strength (32.11–110.16 MPa) and density (1.13–1.90 g/cm³). The water absorption and thickness swelling values observed in this study were higher for AA/epoxy composite, revealing its higher cellulosic content, compared to the other composite materials. The examination of fiber pull-out, matrix cracks, and fiber dislocations in the microstructure and fractured surface morphology of the developed materials confirmed the trends for mechanical properties. Overall, from results analysis it can be concluded that reinforcing epoxy matrix with AA filler effectively improves the properties of the developed composite materials. Thus, date palm fruit bunch stalk filler might be considered as a sustainable and green promising reinforcing material similarly to other natural fibers and can be used for diverse commercial, structural, and nonstructural applications requiring high mechanical resistance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Natural Fibre Composites)

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14 pages, 4971 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Void Content, Tensile, Vibration and Acoustic Properties of Kenaf/Bamboo Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Hybrid Composites

by Ahmad Safwan Ismail, Mohammad Jawaid and Jesuarockiam Naveen

Materials 2019, 12(13), 2094; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12132094 - 28 Jun 2019

Cited by 68 | Viewed by 4658

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the void content, tensile, vibration and acoustic properties of kenaf/bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy hybrid composites. The composites were made using the hand lay-up method. The weight ratios of kenaf/bamboo were 30:70, 50:50 and 70:30. Further, kenaf and bamboo composites were fabricated for the purpose of comparison. The hybridization of woven kenaf/bamboo reduced the void content. The void contents of hybrid composites were almost similar. An enhancement in elongation at break, tensile strength and modulus of hybrid composites was observed until a kenaf/bamboo ratio of 50:50. Kenaf/bamboo (50:50) hybrid composite displays the highest elongation at break, tensile strength and modulus compared to the other hybrid composites which are 2.42 mm, 55.18 MPa and 5.15 GPa, respectively. On the other hand, the highest natural frequency and damping factors were observed for Bamboo/Kenaf (30:70) hybrid composites. The sound absorption coefficient of composites were measured in two conditions: without air gap and with air gap (10, 20, 30 mm). The sound absorption coefficient for testing without air gap was less than 0.5. Introducing an air gap improved the sound absorption coefficient of all composites. Hence, hybrid kenaf/bamboo composites exhibited less void content, as well as improved tensile, vibration and acoustic properties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Natural Fibre Composites)

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Review

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23 pages, 12202 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of Permeability and Flow Simulation for Liquid Composite Moulding of Plant Fibre Composites

by Delphin Pantaloni, Alain Bourmaud, Christophe Baley, Mike J. Clifford, Michael H. Ramage and Darshil U. Shah

Materials 2020, 13(21), 4811; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13214811 - 28 Oct 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3360

Abstract

Liquid composite moulding (LCM) of plant fibre composites has gained much attention for the development of structural biobased composites. To produce quality composites, better understanding of the resin impregnation process and flow behaviour in plant fibre reinforcements is vital. By reviewing the literature, we aim to identify key plant fibre reinforcement-specific factors that influence, if not govern, the mould filling stage during LCM of plant fibre composites. In particular, the differences in structure (physical and biochemical) for plant and synthetic fibres, their semi-products (i.e., yarns and rovings), and their mats and textiles are shown to have a perceptible effect on their compaction, in-plane permeability, and processing via LCM. In addition to examining the effects of dual-scale flow, resin absorption, (subsequent) fibre swelling, capillarity, and time-dependent saturated and unsaturated permeability that are specific to plant fibre reinforcements, we also review the various models utilised to predict and simulate resin impregnation during LCM of plant fibre composites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Performance Natural Fibre Composites)

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