Composites reinforced with cellulose based fibres

Natural fiber reinforced composites is an emerging area in polymer science. These natural fibers are low cost fibers with low density and high specific properties. These are biodegradable and non-abrasive. The natural fiber composites offer specific properties comparable to those of conventional fiber composites. However, in development of these composites, the incompatibility of the fibers and poor resistance to moisture often reduce the potential of natural fibers and these draw backs become critical issue. This review presents the reported work on natural fiber reinforced composites with special reference to the type of fibers, matrix polymers, treatment of fibers and fiber-matrix interface. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Adv in Polymer Techn 18: 351–363, 1999

Natural fiber polymer composites: A review

Biofibres and Biocomposites

Sisal fibre and its composites: a review of recent developments

Dynamic mechanical analysis of banana fiber reinforced polyester composites

Stress relaxation behavior of chemically treated short sisal fiber-reinforced natural rubber composite was studied. The effect of bonding agent, strain level, fiber loading, fiber orientation, and temperature has been studied in detail. The existence of a single relaxation pattern in the unfilled stock and a two-stage relaxation mechanism for the fiber-filled composite is reported. The relaxation process is influenced by the bonding agent, which indicated that the process involved fiber-rubber interface. The rate of stress relaxation increased with fiber loading, whereas it decreased with aging. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Stress relaxation in short sisal-fiber-reinforced natural rubber composites

Degradation behaviour of natural rubber-aluminium powder composites: effect of heat, ozone and high energy radiation

The effect of a two-component dry bonding system consisting of resorcinol and hexamethylene tetramine on the mechanical and viscoelastic properties of short sisal fiber reinforced natural rubber composites has been studied. The studies were conducted with chemically treated and untreated short sisal fibers. Treated fibers impart better mechanical properties to the composites. By mixing with short fibers, the dynamic storage modulus (E') of natural rubber composites was improved. The effects of fiber-matrix adhesion on the mechanical and viscoelastic properties of the composites were investigated. The storage moduli and mechanical loss increased continuously with an increase in fiber loading but decreased with an increase of temperature. The influence of the fiber orientation on the mechanical and viscoelastic properties is discussed.

Mechanical and viscoelastic properties of short fiber reinforced natural rubber composites: effects of interfacial adhesion, fiber loading, and orientation

Thermoplastic elastomers, prepared by melt blending of natural rubber (NR) and isotactic polypropylene (PP) through a dynamic vulcanization technique, were developed during the later 1970s. However, they have certain drawbacks due to thermal degradation and higher molecular weight of NR. In the study reported here, NR was masticated to different levels prior its addition to isotactic polypropylene to improve the flow properties and to reduce the incompatibility resulting from molecular weight mismatch of NR/PP thermoplastic blends. Mixing energy curves of uncrosslinked blends and those of dynamically vulcanized blends crosslinked using different cure systems were compared. The mixing energy curves of blends containing NR of different molecular weight (Mn) and two grades of PP (injection and film grades) were also compared. Technological and processing properties of the dynamically vulcanized (sulphur and peroxide cure systems) and unvulcanized blends were compared with those of the samples containing unmasticated NR. The results indicated that a number average molecular weight in the range 4 × 105 for NR increased the procoessability without significantly affecting the technological properties of NR/PP thermoplastic blends. Among the three cure systems studied Luperox 101 and dicumyl peroxide gave better technological properties than the sulphur-cured samples. Two antioxidants, viz. quinoline (TDQ) and imidazole (MBI) type, were tried in NR/PP blends. It was found that TDQ imparts better aging resistance compared to MBI. The improvement in processability due to the reduction in molecular weight of natural rubber by mastication is more noticeable in the case of peroxide vulcanized blends compared to sulphur vulcanized samples. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 2063–2068, 2004

Natural rubber–isotactic polypropylene thermoplastic blends

Studies on the effect of blend ratio and crosslinking system on thermal, X-ray and dynamic mechanical properties of blends of natural rubber and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer

Baby Kuriakose

Papers

Stress relaxation in short sisal-fiber-reinforced natural rubber composites

Degradation behaviour of natural rubber-aluminium powder composites: effect of heat, ozone and high energy radiation

Mechanical and viscoelastic properties of short fiber reinforced natural rubber composites: effects of interfacial adhesion, fiber loading, and orientation

Natural rubber–isotactic polypropylene thermoplastic blends

Studies on the effect of blend ratio and crosslinking system on thermal, X-ray and dynamic mechanical properties of blends of natural rubber and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer