Natural fibers, as replacement of engineered fibers, have been one of the most researched topics over the past years. This is due to their inherent properties, such as biodegradability, renewability and their abundant availability when compared to synthetic fibers. Synthetic fibers derived from finite resources (fossil fuels) and are thus, affected mainly by volatility oil prices and their accumulation in the environment and/or landfill sites as main drawbacks their mechanical properties and thermal properties surpass that of natural fibers. A combination of these fibers/fillers, as reinforcement of various polymeric materials, offers new opportunities to produce multifunctional materials and structures for advanced applications. This article intends to cover recent developments from 2013-up to date on hybrid composites, based on natural fibers with other fillers. Hybrid composites preparation and characterization towards their applicability in advanced applications and the current challenges are also presented.

Recent progress on natural fiber hybrid composites for advanced applications: A review

Understanding the basic properties of natural fibers is important to determine the optimal intended uses for instance as high-quality bio-composite raw material. This review describes the characteristics, and potential uses of some natural fibers in order to improve their sustainability and economic values. The natural fibers have low density and high strength to weight ratio and reduction make them potential as light weight composite and reinforcement materials. The microstructure and chemical compositions of fibers affect the mechanical properties with the fiber cross-sectional area is the most variable influencing the fiber strength. Natural fibers are easy to absorb water due to the presence of hemicellulose that give hydrophilic properties make them less compatible in the interaction with matrix with hydrophobicity properties. Higher cellulose content and crystallinity tend to result better strength properties of fiber while lignin is since versa. Besides that, fiber anatomical characteristics vary between different and same species that affect on the density and mechanical properties. The other factors namely environmental conditions, method of transportation, storage time and conditions, and fiber extraction affect the size and quality of the natural fibers.

A review on natural fibers for development of eco-friendly bio-composite: characteristics, and utilizations

Hybrid reinforced thermoset polymer composite in energy absorption tube application: a review

In recent years, researchers and scientists are facing problems in terms of environmental imbalance and global warming owing to numerous use of composite materials prepared by synthetic fibers and 

Tensile and flexural properties of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites: A review:

This paper investigates tensile, flexural, and dynamic mechanical properties of natural and hybrid thermoset composite laminates made from flax/glass and jute/glass fibres. Hybrid laminates with va...

Faizzaty Binti Md Shiri

Papers

Effects of Fibre Configuration on Mechanical Properties of Banana Fibre/PP/MAPP Natural Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composite ☆