Abstract
Natural fibre-reinforced composites have recently received much attention because of their attractive properties such as lightweight, non-abrasive, combustible, non-toxic, low cost and biodegradable. This chapter examines the applications of natural fibre-reinforced composites and nanocomposites in automotive structural applications. Various applied and promising natural fibre-reinforced composites and nanocomposites including flax, hemp, kenaf, wood, pineapple, banana and sisal are presented. Key determinants to performance-specific properties of natural fibre-reinforced composites are discussed in detail. These include fibre–matrix adhesion, fibre mechanical properties, moisture, impact and fatigue, thermal stability and preparation of fibre-reinforced composites. The chapter further looks into lightweight component manufacturing techniques including their potentials and limitations. Examples of current applications are given, and future trends are outlined while addressing the main drawbacks faced by these composites to lightweight components or vehicle manufacturing.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Mouti Z, Westwood K, Kayvantash K et al (2010) Low velocity impact behavior of glass filled fiber-reinforced thermoplastic engine components. Materials 3:2463–2473
Wambua P, Ivens J, Verpoest I (2003) Natural fibres: can they replace glass in fibre reinforced plastics? Compos Sci Technol 63:1259–1264
Wambua PM (2004) Protective low price composite materials based on natural fibres. PhD thesis, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Lee SC, Mariatti M (2008) The effect of bagasse fibers obtained (from rind and pith component) on the properties of unsaturated polyester composites. Mater Lett 62:2253–2256
Jústiz-Smith NG, Virgo GJ, Buchanan VE (2008) Potential of jamaican banana, coconut coir and bagasse fibres as composite materials. Mater Charact 59:1273–1278
Reed AR, Williams PT (2003) Thermal processing of biomass natural fibre wastes by pyrolysis. Int J Energy Res 28:131–145
Cahn RW (1990) Encyclopedia of materials science and engineering supplementary. Pergamon Press, Oxford
Hamad W (2002) Cellulosic materials: fibers, networks, and composites. Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands
Bos HL, Van Den Oever MJA, Peters OCJJ (2002) Tensile and compressive properties of flax fibres for natural fibre reinforced composites. J Mater Sci 37:1683–1692
Bhat GS (1995) Nonwovens as three-dimensional textiles for composites. Mater Manuf Process 10:667–688
John MJ, Anandjiwala RD (2009) Chemical modification of flax reinforced polypropylene composites. Compos A 40:442–448
Beckermann GW, Pickering KL (2009) Engineering and evaluation of hemp fibre reinforced polypropylene composites: micro-mechanics and strength prediction modelling. Compos A 40:210–217
Mohanty AK, Wibowo A, Misra M et al (2004) Effect of process engineering on the performance of natural fiber reinforced cellulose acetate biocomposites. Compos A 35:363–370
Van Voorn B, Smit HHG, Sinke RJ et al (2001) Natural fibre reinforced sheet moulding compound. Compos A 32:1271–1279
Wollerdorfer M, Bader H (1998) Influence of natural fibres on the mechanical properties of biodegradable polymers. Ind Crop Prod 8:105–112
Mehta G, Drzal LT, Mohanty AK et al (2006) Effect of fiber surface treatment on the properties of biocomposites from nonwoven industrial hemp fiber mats and unsaturated polyester resin. J Appl Polym Sci 99:1055–1068
Mitchell AJ (1986) Composites of commercial wood pulp fibres and cement. Appita J 30:229
Nishino T, Hirao K, Kotera M et al (2003) Kenaf reinforced biodegradable composite. Compos Sci Technol 63:1281–1286
Zampaloni M, Pourboghrat F, Yankovich SA et al (2007) Kenaf natural fiber reinforced polypropylene composites: a discussion on manufacturing problems and solutions. Compos A 38:1569–1580
Shebani AN, van Reenen AJ, Meincken M (2008) The effect of wood extractives on the thermal stability of different wood species. Thermochim Acta 471:43–50
Maldas D, Kokta BV, Daneault C (1989) Thermoplastic composites of polystyrene: effect of different wood species on mechanical properties. J Appl Polym Sci 38:413–439
Lu JZ, Wu Q, Negulescu II (2005) Wood-fiber/high-density-polyethylene composites: coupling agent performance. J Appl Polym Sci 96:93–102
Michell AJ (1986) Composites containing wood pulp fibres. Appita 39:223–229
Beg MDH, Pickering KL (2008) Mechanical performance of kraft fibre reinforced polypropylene composites: influence of fibre length, fibre beating and hygrothermal ageing. Compos A 39:1748–1755
McKenzie AW, Yuritta JP (1979) Wood fiber reinforced polymers. Appita 32:460–465
Bhattacharyya D, Bowis M, Jayaraman K (2003) Thermoforming woodfibre-polypropylene composite sheets. Compos Sci Technol 63:353–365
George J, Sreekala MS, Thomas S et al (1998) Stress relaxation behavior of short pineapple fiber reinforced polyethylene composites. J Reinforc Plast Compos 17:651–672
George J, Bhagawan SS, Prabhakaran N et al (1995) Short pineapple-leaf-fiber-reinforced low-density polyethylene composites. J Appl Polym Sci 57:843–854
Luo S, Netravali AN (1999) Mechanical and thermal properties of environment-friendly ‘green’ composites made from pineapple leaf fibers and poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate) resin. Polym Compos 20:367–378
Arib RMN, Sapuan SM, Ahmad MMHM et al (2006) Mechanical properties of pineapple leaf fibre reinforced polypropylene composites. Mater Des 27:391–396
Pothan LA, Thomas S (2003) Polarity parameters and dynamic mechanical behaviour of chemically modified banana fiber reinforced polyester composites. Compos Sci Technol 63:1231–1240
Elanthikkal S, Gopalakrishnapanicker U, Varghese S et al (2010) Cellulose microfibres produced from banana plant wastes: isolation and characterization. Carbohydr Polym 80:852–859
Sreekumar PA, Albert F, Unnikrishnan G et al (2008) Mechanical and water sorption studies of ecofriendly banana fiber-reinforced polyester composites fabricated by RTM. J Appl Polym Sci 109:1547–1555
Liu H, Wu Q, Zhang Q (2009) Preparation and properties of banana fiber-reinforced composites based on high density polyethylene (HDPE)/Nylon-6 blends. Bioresour Technol 100:6088–6097
Agarwal R, Saxena NS, Sharma KB et al (2003) Thermal conduction and diffusion through glass-banana fiber polyester composites. Indian J Pure Appl Phys 41:448–452
Annie Paul S, Boudenne A, Ibos L et al (2008) Effect of fiber loading and chemical treatments on thermophysical properties of banana fiber/polypropylene commingled composite materials. Compos A 39:1582–1588
Li Y, Mai Y, Ye L (2000) Sisal fibre and its composites: a review of recent developments. Compos Sci Technol 60:2037–2055
Gordon JE, Jeronimidis G (1980) Composites with high work of fracture. Philos Trans R Soc Lond A Math Phys Sci 294:545–550
Joseph K, Thomas S, Pavithran C (1995) Effect of ageing on the physical and mechanical properties of sisal-fiber-reinforced polyethylene composites. Compos Sci Technol 53:99–110
Gauthier R, Joly C, Coupas AC et al (1998) Interfaces in polyolefin/cellulosic fiber composites: chemical coupling, morphology, correlation with adhesion and aging in moisture. Polym Compos 19:287–300
George J, Sreekala MS, Thomas S (2001) A review on interface modification and characterization of natural fiber reinforced plastic composites. Polym Eng Sci 41:1471–1485
Bledzki AK, Gassan J (1999) Composites reinforced with cellulose based fibres. Prog Polym Sci 24:221–274
Abdelmouleh M, Boufi S, Belgacem MN et al (2004) Modification of cellulosic fibres with functionalised silanes: development of surface properties. Int J Adhes Adhes 24:43–54
Mishra S, Naik JB, Patil YP (2000) The compatibilising effect of maleic anhydride on swelling and mechanical properties of plant-fiber-reinforced novolac composites. Compos Sci Technol 60:1729–1735
Dash BN, Rana AK, Mishra HK et al (1999) Novel, low-cost jute-polyester composites. part 1: processing, mechanical properties, and SEM analysis. Polym Compos 20:62–71
Hwang SJ, Gibson RF (1992) Use of strain energy-based finite element techniques in the analysis of various aspects of damping of composite materials and structures. J Compos Mater 26:2585–2605
Gassan J (2002) A study of fibre and interface parameters affecting the fatigue behaviour of natural fibre composites. Compos A 33:369–374
Pielichowski K, Njuguna J (2005) Thermal degradation of polymeric materials. RAPRA Technologies Limited, Shawbury, Surrey
Pandey JK, Raghunatha Reddy K, Pratheep Kumar A et al (2005) An overview on the degradability of polymer nanocomposites. Polym Degrad Stab 88:234–250
Wielage B, Lampke T, Marx G et al (1999) Thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetric analysis of natural fibres and polypropylene. Thermochim Acta 337:169–177
Idicula M, Boudenne A, Umadevi L et al (2006) Thermophysical properties of natural fibre reinforced polyester composites. Compos Sci Technol 66:2719–2725
Mishra S, Mohanty AK, Drzal LT et al (2004) A review on pineapple leaf fibers, sisal fibers and their biocomposites. Macromol Mater Eng 289:955–974
Leszczyńska A, Njuguna J, Pielichowski K et al (2007) Polymer/montmorillonite nanocomposites with improved thermal properties: part I. Factors influencing thermal stability and mechanisms of thermal stability improvement. Thermochim Acta 453:75–96
Leszczyńska A, Njuguna J, Pielichowski K et al (2007) Polymer/montmorillonite nanocomposites with improved thermal properties: part II. Thermal stability of montmorillonite nanocomposites based on different polymeric matrixes. Thermochim Acta 454:1–22
Markarian J (2005) Automotive and packaging offer growth opportunities for nanocomposites. Plastics Addit Compound 7:18–21
Auto Applications Drive Commercialization of Nanocomposites (2002) Plastics. Addit Compound 4:30–33
BCC Research (2006) Nanocomposites, nanoparticles, nanoclays, and nanotubes. 1 Jun 2006
Lux Research (2004) The Nanotech Report 2004 retrieved on February 10, 2011 from http://www.luxresearchinc.com/products/subscription-intelligence/state-of-the-market-reports.html
Principia Partners (2005) Polymer Nanocomposites Create Exciting Opportunities in the Plastics Industry: Updated Study from Principia. Retrieved on February 10, 2011 from Special Chem at http://specialchem4polymers.com/resources/latest/displaynews.aspx?id=1965
Kojima Y, Usuki A, Kawasumi M et al (1993) Mechanical properties of nylon 6-clay hybrid. J Mater Res 8:1185–1189
Kojima Y, Usuki A, Kawasumi M et al (1993) Sorption of water in nylon 6-clay hybrid. J Appl Polym Sci 49:1259–1264
Longkullabutra H, Thamjaree W, Nhuapeng W (2010) Improvement in the tensile strength of epoxy resin and hemp/epoxy resin composites using carbon nanotubes. Adv Mater Res 93–94:497–500
Liu Z, Erhan SZ (2008) “Green” composites and nanocomposites from soybean oil. Mater Sci Eng A 483–484:708–711
Faruk O, Matuana LM (2008) Nanoclay reinforced HDPE as a matrix for wood-plastic composites. Compos Sci Technol 68:2073–2077
Vilela C, Freire CSR, Marques PAAP et al (2010) Synthesis and characterization of new CaCO3/cellulose nanocomposites prepared by controlled hydrolysis of dimethylcarbonate. Carbohydr Polym 79:1150–1156
Xie Y, Hill CAS, Xiao Z et al (2010) Silane coupling agents used for natural fiber/polymer composites: a review. Compos A 41:806–819
Abdelmouleh M, Boufi S, Belgacem MN et al (2007) Short natural-fibre reinforced polyethylene and natural rubber composites: effect of silane coupling agents and fibres loading. Compos Sci Technol 67:1627–1639
Junior de Menezes A, Siqueira G, Curvelo AAS et al (2009) Extrusion and characterization of functionalized cellulose whiskers reinforced polyethylene nanocomposites. Polymer 50:4552–4563
Nakagaito AN, Fujimura A, Sakai T et al (2009) Production of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC)-reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) nanocomposites from sheets obtained by a papermaking-like process. Compos Sci Technol 69:1293–1297
Haq M, Burgueño R, Mohanty AK et al (2008) Hybrid bio-based composites from blends of unsaturated polyester and soybean oil reinforced with nanoclay and natural fibers. Compos Sci Technol 68:3344–3351
Njuguna J, Michalowski S, Pielichowski K, Kayvantash K, Walton AC (2011) Fabrication, characterisation and low-velocity impact on hybrid sandwich composites with polyurethane/layered silicate foam cores. Polym Compos 32:6–13
Sun L, Gibson RF, Gordaninejad F et al (2009) Energy absorption capability of nanocomposites: a review. Compos Sci Technol 69:2392–2409
Guigo N, Vincent L, Mija A et al (2009) Innovative green nanocomposites based on silicate clays/lignin/natural fibres. Compos Sci Technol 69:1979–1984
Richardson MOW, Zhang ZY (2000) Experimental investigation and flow visualisation of the resin transfer mould filling process for non-woven hemp reinforced phenolic composites. Compos A 31:1303–1310
Sèbe G, Cetin NS, Hill CAS et al (2000) RTM hemp fibre-reinforced polyester composites. Appl Compos Mater 7:341–349
Williams GI, Wool RP (2000) Composites from natural fibers and soy oil resins. Appl Compos Mater 7:421–432
Oksman K (2001) High quality flax fibre composites manufactured by the resin transfer moulding process. J Reinf Plast Compos 20:621–627
Dweib MA, Hu B, O’Donnell A et al (2004) All natural composite sandwich beams for structural applications. Compos Struct 63:147–157
John MJ, Thomas S (2008) Biofibres and biocomposites. Carbohyd Polym 71:343–364
Automotive Industries (2000) “Goes Natural” for large body panel. DaimlerChrysler 9
Pervaiz M, Sain MM (2003) Sheet-molded polyolefin natural fiber composites for automotive applications. Macromol Mater Eng 288:553–557
Suddell BC, Evans WJ, Mohanty AK, Misra M, Drzal LT (eds) (2005) Natural fiber composites in automotive applications: Natural fibers. Biopolymers and Biocomposites. CRC Press, p 231
Bledzki AK, Faruko O, Sperher VE (2006) Cars from bio-fibres. Macromol Mater Eng 291:449–457
Diener J, Siehler U (1999) Ökologischer vergleich von NMT-und GMT-bauteilen. Angew Makromol Chem 272:1–1
Corbiere-Nicollier T, Gfeller Laban B, Lundquist L et al (2001) Life cycle assessment of biofibres replacing glass fibres as reinforcement in plastics. Resour Conservat Recycl 33:267–287
Njuguna J, Pena I, Zhu H et al (2009) Opportunities and environmental health challenges facing integration of polymer nanocomposites: technologies for automotive applications. Int J Polym Technol 1:113–122
PolyOne Corporation (2010) http://www.polyone.com/en-us/products/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed 30 Apr 2010
Leao A, Rowell R, Tavares N (1997) Applications of natural fibres in automotive industry in brazil-thermoforming process. In: 4th International Conference on Frontiers of Polymers and Advanced Materials Conference Proceedings, pp 755–760
Dahlke B, Larbig H, Scherzer HD et al (1998) Natural fiber reinforced foams based on renewable resources for automotive interior applications. J Cell Plast 34:361–378
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Njuguna, J., Wambua, P., Pielichowski, K., Kayvantash, K. (2011). Natural Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Composites and Nanocomposites for Automotive Applications. In: Kalia, S., Kaith, B., Kaur, I. (eds) Cellulose Fibers: Bio- and Nano-Polymer Composites. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17370-7_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17370-7_23
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-17369-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-17370-7
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)