Abstract
The sports industry is an ever-growing sector worldwide. With technological advancements in information technologies, the sports industry has merged with the entertainment industry, reaching and influencing billions of people globally. However, to ensure and advance the safety, security, and sustainability of the sports industry, technological innovations are always needed in several manufacturing and materials processes to achieve cost-effectiveness, efficiency, durability, reusability, and recyclability of products used in this industry. For example, 90% of the field hockey equipment produced in the world comes from Sialkot, Pakistan. Most export quality field hockey equipment is currently produced via reinforcement of glass/carbon fibers in epoxy resin. The current study aimed to introduce new materials for field hockey equipment to reduce manufacturing costs and the environmental impact of synthetic materials, without comprising the quality of the final product. Our literature review on natural fibers revealed that they offer excellent and compatible mechanical properties. Based on extensive experimental studies, we concluded that banana fiber reinforced hybrid composites could be an alternative to pure glass fiber reinforced composites, with comparable and even higher load withstanding capabilities. Using banana fiber reinforced hybrid composites for the fabrication of hockey products would cut costs and lower the environmental impact stemming from the uses of biodegradable organic materials. It will also lead to the development of a domestic economy based on domestic resources.
Highlights
The sports industry is an ever-growing sector all around the world
A particular stacking sequence generally used in hockey products production was selected and the specimens were manufactured with a different weight content of banana and glass fibers based on the available literature [31]
Minor deviations in the stress-strain curves were observed for G8 samples but plots for the hybrid composites were consistent
Summary
The sports industry is an ever-growing sector all around the world. With technological advancements in information technologies, the sports industry has merged with and become a significant entertainment industry reaching and influencing billions of people globally. In order to ensure and advance the safety, security, and sustainability of the sports industry, technological innovations are always needed in the manufacturing and materials processes to attain cost-effectiveness, efficiency, durability, reusability, and recyclability of the products used in this industry. There are players like China and India in the fabrication and export of field hockey products around 90%. Businesses are investing in the research and development of processes and materials to compete in the international market with economic and quality products. Field hockey products are made by Materials 2020, 13, 3167; doi:10.3390/ma13143167 www.mdpi.com/journal/materials
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