7 - Compressive and fracture toughness of natural and synthetic fiber-reinforced polymer

Abstract

Compressive and fracture toughness have been considered important parameters for evaluating the performance of fiber-reinforced polymers. Natural and synthetic fibers are predominantly used to tailor mechanical and physical properties across a broad range of applications. Natural fiber-reinforced polymers generally possess low mechanical properties compared with synthetic fibers. However, natural fibers are relatively easy to obtain at a high yield and high specific surface area and can be treated chemically to compete with synthetic fibers. A number of factors such as the matrix and fiber selection, fiber dispersion and orientation, and pretreatment of fibers can be used to tailor the mechanical properties of the fiber-reinforced polymer. This chapter presents an overview of work accomplished on the mechanical properties of both natural and synthetic fiber-reinforced polymers. The influence of fracture toughness and the compressive response of natural and synthetic fiber- reinforced polymers are discussed. In addition, the compressive response and failure characteristics of natural and synthetic fibers are reviewed. The hydrophilic nature of fibers leads to reduced compatibility with hydrophobic polymers, which has a negative effect on fracture toughness. Nevertheless, natural fibers open the way toward strong and promising research with an expanding area of potential applications such as nanocomposite materials, paper, biomedical applications, and adsorbent materials.