Wood Fiber Mats as Reinforcements for Thermosets

Abstract

Over the past few decades, polymer composite materials have replaced many of the conventional materials in various applications in fields as diverse as sporting goods, automotive and spacecraft industries. Fiber-reinforced polymers offer numerous advantages over conventional materials/metals, the most important being ease of processing, low weight, and cost reduction. The properties of polymer composites can be modified using fillers and fibers to suit the high strength and high modulus requirements of a particular application. The most common reinforcing fibers consist of inorganic materials, such as glass, carbon, and aramid. In recent years, many researchers have been involved in investigating the application of cellulosic fibers as load-bearing constituents in composite materials [1–9]. The use of these materials in polymer composites has increased recently due to their low cost compared to the synthetic alternatives, their ability to be recycled, and because of the fact that they compete well in terms of specific stiffness and strength. Natural fibers are classified according to their source: plants, animals or minerals. In general, plant fibers are used to reinforce plastics in the composite industry. Wood fibers extracted from trees are by far the most abundant [10] (Table 23.1).