Self-Reinforcing Polymer Composites

Abstract

Fibre reinforced polymers play an enormous role as structural materials in present day technology. The same is true for highly filled polymers, where the filler consists of isotropic particles which, however, provide impact strength, thermal conductivity and rigidity. The use of mixtures of form anisotropic (fibres) or form isotropic (powders) particles and polymers is linked to a number of serious problems in processing technology. Moreover, the presence of internal surfaces and phase boundaries in the composite materials is at the origin of the failure, ageing and other misbehaviors which limit the technical performance of these otherwise interesting materials.