Abstract
Natural fiber reinforced polymer composites (NFRCs) have demonstrated great potential for many different applications in various industries due to their advantages compared to synthetic fiber-reinforced composites, such as low environmental impact and low cost. However, one of the drawbacks is that the NFRCs present relatively low mechanical properties and the absorption of humidity due to the hydrophilic characteristic of the natural fibre. One method to increase their performance is hybridization. Therefore, understanding the properties and potential of using multiple reinforcement’s materials to develop hybrid composites is of great interest. This paper provides an overview of the recent advances in hybrid natural fiber reinforced polymer composites. First, the main factors that affect the performance of hybrid fiber-reinforced composites were briefly discussed. The effect of hybridization on the mechanical and thermal properties of hybrid composites reinforced with several types of natural fibers (i.e., sisal, jute, curauá, ramie, banana, etc.) or natural fibers combined with synthetic fibers is presented. Finally, the water absorption behaviour of hybrid fiber-reinforced composites is also discussed. It was concluded that the main challenges that need to be addressed in order to increase the use of natural-natural or natural-synthetic hybrid composites in industry are the poor adhesion between natural fibers and matrix, thermal stability and moisture absorption of natural fibers. Some of these challenges were addressed by recent development in fibers treatment and modification, and product innovation (hybridization).
Highlights
Several industrial sectors, are continuously seeking development of lighter materials with increased resistance with the goal of improving system reliability and efficiency
There are several reviews concerning the use of natural fibers in the production of natural hybrid composites, this paper provides an overview of the recent advances in both interlaminar and intralaminar hybrid natural fiber composites with natural-synthetic and natural-natural fiber combination in thermoset polymeric matrices
The effect of hybridization on the mechanical and thermal properties of hybrid composites reinforced with several types of natural fibers or natural fibers combined with synthetic fibers is presented
Summary
Several industrial sectors (e.g., the automotive and aeronautics), are continuously seeking development of lighter materials with increased resistance with the goal of improving system reliability and efficiency. The effect of hybridization on the mechanical and thermal properties of hybrid composites reinforced with several types of natural fibers (i.e., sisal, jute, curauá, ramie, banana, etc.) or natural fibers combined with synthetic fibers is presented. It is worth mentioning that the amount of cellulose and lignin in the natural fibers depends on the environmental conditions during the plant cultivation, soil properties, irrigation, and extraction techniques (i.e., automatic harvesting or manual extractions) [22] These characteristics changes the natural fiber’s morphology, and their mechanical and thermal properties [23,24,25,26,27]. The main mechanical properties of the most used natural fibers in hybrid composite materials and their cellulose content are summarised in Tab. 1. Combination of treatments with two different chemicals presented better mechanical and thermal properties than the individual treatments in some cases
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