Natural Fibrous Materials Research Articles

A Framework for Prioritising the Performance Criteria of Natural Fibre Composite Materials: Incorporation of CRITIC-TOPSIS Method

Selecting an appropriate Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) method to provide a solution to assist design engineers in prioritising the right criteria in the early design process is essential. Part of the aim of this study is to establish an integration CRITIC-TOPIS for selecting the most efficient framework to choose performance criteria, namely density, tensile strength, Young’s modulus, cellulose, and elongation at break for natural fibre material intended for cap toe shoes like abaca, bamboo, coir, jute, kenaf, sisal. Hence, a new framework was proposed and tested based on integrating Criteria Importance Through Inter Criteria Correlation (CRITIC)-Technique Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). Therefore, this proposed framework consists of two phases: the first involves determining the weights of attributes using the CRITIC method, and the second consists of making material criteria decisions using the TOPSIS method. Meanwhile, to achieve this objective, numerical validation was obtained using data from selected past case studies, which were then replicated to validate the output of the proposed framework. According to the validation conducted using CRITIC-TOPSIS, the results show a significant level of similarity, with the rankings being consistent. Therefore, the proposed methodology may provide imprecise and ambiguous information for prioritising the performance criteria of natural fibre composite materials. Moreover, design engineers can utilise this framework in the composite industry to create the best possible evaluation model for composite material criteria selection for various applications.

Study on the engineering properties of abaca/hemp/kenaf natural fiber mats reinforced with Anogeissus latifolia, polyester resin, and fly ash nano powder nanocomposites

Study on the engineering properties of abaca/hemp/kenaf natural fiber mats reinforced with Anogeissus latifolia, polyester resin, and fly ash nano powder nanocomposites

Fabrication and characterization of natural fiber reinforced cowpea resin-based green composites: an approach towards agro-waste valorization.

A paradigm shift towards using bio-resins or bio-derived resins among materials scientists has led to wide exploration of the sector. Polymers such as soy protein isolate, poly(hydroxy alkanoate), poly(lactic acid), and thermoplastic starch are all synthetically modified bio-based resins and are costly. The cowpea-derived resin with the least chemical modification was used in this study as a matrix for the formation of composites with natural fibers at a lesser cost. Fabrication of composites of vetiver and jute with varying weight percentages of fiber (50, 60, and 70%) in the innovative cowpea resin resulted in favorable mechanical properties and degradability. The tensile strength was the highest for the jute-cowpea composite (JCP2) at around 37.49 MPa, which also has a flexural strength of 40.3 MPa. Dynamic mechanical analysis of composites reflects the moderate storage moduli of 1802 MPa for JCP2 and 1351 MPa for vetiver-cowpea (VRCP2) composites. Impact strength studies and thermal stability also show optimistic results. The contact angle, water absorption behavior, and swelling in thickness show the moderate hydrophobicity of the composites. This is also a reason for the improved degradability of the composites in soil-burial and microbial environments. Characterizations such as FE-SEM and FTIR spectroscopy, conducted after the degradation of the samples, showcased the level of deterioration. All these results suggest using the innovative cowpea resin as a good alternative to various other synthetic thermoplastic resins used in the fiber reinforced composite manufacturing field.

Effects of layering variation on mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of areca natural fiber mat reinforced epoxy biocomposites

Effects of layering variation on mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of areca natural fiber mat reinforced epoxy biocomposites

Verification of material characteristic of natural fibers for concrete reinforcement

The topic of the article is the verification of the tensile mechanical characteristics of selected natural fibres commonly available on the Czech market. Due to their high tensile strengths, some natural materials have a certain potential for use in specific engineering applications such as concrete reinforcement. Additionally, natural fibres are renewable materials, making them an environmentally friendly material. Potentially, its use as a reinforcement in the form of technical textiles for textilereinforced concrete could help create more sustainable reinforced concrete elements. This article deals with tensile tests of chosen available natural fibre materials, such as flax, hemp, jute, and sisal, both pure and impregnated (homogenised) using epoxy resin. In this article, the results and comparisons of tensile strengths and Young’s modulus are presented.

Extraction and characterization of steam-exploded silane-treated cellulosic natural Vernonia elaeagnifolia long fibre

Steam explosion is a highly successful and environmentally benign fibre-treating method for lignocellulosic fibers that can significantly improve the fibre's properties. The research focuses on utilizing sustainable long-cellulosic natural fibre material to benefit the textile, fibre-strengthened polymer, and engineering industries. A cellulosic natural fibre was extracted from Vernonia elaeagnifolia and further, it was steam exploded and silane-treated with various chemical concentrations. Chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and SEM examination were used to examine the crystallinity and check the morphological properties of raw Vernonia elaeagnifolia fibre (VEF) and steam-exploded silane-treated Vernonia elaeagnifolia fibres. The chemical analysis shows that steam-exploded silane treatments of VEFs removed lignin, hemicelluloses, and other extractives. The highest crystallinity of 75.86% was found in 13% of steam-exploded silane-treated VEF and for 5% of steam-exploded silane-treated VEF, it was about 70.22%, which is confirmed through the XRD analysis. The tensile strength of steam-exploded 5% silane-treated VEF was 470.67 MPa, while Young's modulus was 18.7 GPa. The obtained result suggests that steam-exploded silane-treated VEFs are suitable fibres to strengthen polymer composite materials in a sustainable way.

A Case Study in Natural Fibre Material (Luffa Sponge) Development Using E2-Material-Driven Design

To unleash the emotional potential of natural fibre materials in sustainable development and utilisation, this paper presents a material-driven design method with emotional and ecological indicators (E2-MDD). The method offers product-level solutions for the sustainable development of natural materials. The method involves several steps, such as screening the main material quality, capturing the user emotion vision, deconstructing the E2 vision pattern, and deducting the product design concept. The method was tested on luffa sponge samples, seen as one kind of traditional fibre resource, which resulted in four differentiated schemes, which were evaluated using the E2-MDD ring radar column score chart. The study identified three key emotional qualities for natural fibre materials: associativity, uniqueness, and biophilicity. The results show that product concepts closer to the natural material’s original form scored higher, while the inclusion of non-natural materials had a negative impact on the evaluations. This study also found that E2-MDD could strengthen the emotional and ecological connection between people and products, further indicating that material and design can establish a link between environmental friendliness and emotional experience. Lastly, the paper suggests future development areas for the E2-MDD method, including focusing on users, ecology, and business.

GhCKX1 is an important genetic target for improving fiber strength in cotton

Cotton is a widely grown crop to produce natural textile fiber, and improving the fiber strength (FS) is one of the main targets that cotton breeders focus on. The long-term natural selection and domestication have produced abundant germplasm resources of Gossypium hirsutum, and exploring genetic underpinnings underlying these FS innovation in elite collections is crucial. PCAMP is proposed as a most optimized NGS based bulked segregant analysis (NGS-BSA) for the high-resolution identification of markers linked to specific genomic regions through pairwise comparing multiple BSA bulks. In this study, we firstly applied PCAMP to resolved the FS genetic architecture in G. hirsutum cv. CCRI127. As an extension for PCAMP approach, graded bulks were constructed using F2 segregants with the FS phenotype revalidated by F2:3 lines, and then, a major QTL was eventually narrowed to 2.47 Mb from 8.14 Mb generated by traditional BSA approaches. Subsequently, through a saturated genetic map constructed in this locus, an novel FS gene, GhCKX1, predicted to produce a cytokinin (CTK) oxidase was isolated. It can negatively modulate the CTK signaling circuit via irreversible degradation of CTKs, resulting in an additional cell wall thickness to xylem tracheary elements in transgenic lines of Arabidopsis thaliana. Thus, the GhCKX1 gene will be an potential genetic target, with which, we can genetically manipulate the secondary wall synthesis in unicellular cotton fibers.

Experimental investigation on natural fiber material for pesticide spraying mobile robot structure

Natural fibers has recently become one of the most crucial material available in the environment. Natural fiber has gained popularity due to its light weight, greater specific stiffness, low cost, easily available, and longer fatigue life. It has high-specific properties such as impact resistance, low density, flexibility, biodegradability, and economy are exhibited by these natural fibers. The other material used in robot include issues like temperature sensitivity in plastic, weight, and corrosion in iron metal, and composites. The main aim of this paper is to test how natural fiber material is best suitable to use for building a chassis of pesticide spraying robot. This work focuses on test specimens made by hand layup technique from a mixture of natural fibers from sisal wood and epoxy resin production procedure. Tests conducted on a 50/50 fraction of these materials show encouraging results 40.13 Mpa for tensile strength, 24.26 N/mm2 for compression strength, and 0.0384 for the Izod Impact test result. Additionally, a 30–70 percentage shows an Izod Impact test result of 0.0239, a tensile strength of 65.66 Mpa, and a compression strength of 21.86 N/mm2. The result showed that natural fiber is the most appropriate material used in pesticide spraying robot structure. Sisal natural fiber material has potential for use in a variety of robotic applications, especially in fields that require materials that are ecologically benign, biodegradable, and lightweight. By including more possible natural fibers, altering the fiber's composition and orientation, and analyzing its mechanical and machining properties, the experiments can be expanded.

Biomimetic Design of Hydration‐Responsive Silk Fibers and their Role in Actuators and Self‐Modulated Textiles

AbstractHydration‐induced shape‐morphing behavior has been discovered in many natural fiber‐based materials, yet this smart behavior in regenerated fibers from biopolymers lacks investigation. Here, hierarchically structured silk fibers are developed with anisotropic long‐range molecular organization and water‐responsive effects resembling natural spider silk. The regenerated silk fibers exhibit the water‐triggered shape‐memory effect and a water‐driven cyclic response. The reversible hydrogen bonds and transformation in the metastable secondary structure from α‐helices/random coils to β‐sheets are explored as the mechanisms responsible for the water‐responsiveness. The silk fibers obtained possess a tensile strength higher than 104 MPa at a fracture strain of ≈100%, showing noticeable toughness. The water‐responsive silk fibers exhibit a shape recovery rate of ∼83% and generate a maximum actuation stress of up to 18 MPa during the water‐driven cyclic contraction that outperforms most traditional natural textile fibers. The regenerated silk fibers show potential for use in water‐driven actuators, artificial muscle, and smart fabrics based on the integration of suitable mechanical properties and water responsiveness.

Fabrication and Behavior Study of Natural Fiber Utilized Low-Density Polyethylene Nanocomposite via Injection Mold

Fabrication and Behavior Study of Natural Fiber Utilized Low-Density Polyethylene Nanocomposite via Injection Mold

Mechanical characterization & regression analysis of Calamus rotang based hybrid natural fibre composite with findings reported on retrieval bending strength

Research on Bio-based natural fiber material promoted the development of reinforcement and expand their possible structural applications. In this study, fibers are extracted from the stem of Calamus rotang (common rattan-Indian Species). Further, the fiber is processed to get novel hybrid combinations with glass fibers by manual hand lay-up technique. Three sets of samples were prepared for the different volume fractions of 60:40, 30:30:30, and 60:32:8 of glass fiber/epoxy as neat composite sample (NCS), a hybrid combination of C. rotang /glass fiber with epoxy as modified reinforced composite sample (MRCS) and glass fiber/epoxy with calamus stem powder as modified matrix composite sample (MMCS) respectively. Mechanical tests including tensile, flexural, impact, and ILSS tests are conducted as per ASTM Standards. Comparative studies have been done to evaluate the effect of novel species of C. rotang on mechanical properties with neat GFRP composites. Addition to this regression analysis has been carried out to achieve the experimental correlation for tensile and bending tests. Microstructural analysis for all the tested samples has been done to assess the fracture mode. Novel findings on retrieval bending strength for MMCS has been reported for the first time for composite materials. Study proves that novel species have a significant impact on the basic properties of materials.

Investigation of low‐velocity impact behaviors of polymer composites reinforced with different natural fiber fabrics

AbstractIn this study, the low‐velocity impact behavior of polymer composites produced separately by reinforcing with natural fiber fabrics such as linen, hemp, jute, and bamboo was investigated for three different thicknesses (2.5 ± 0.1, 5 ± 0.1, and 7.5 ± 0.1 mm) by vacuum infusion method. Low‐speed impact tests were performed at three different energy levels of 20, 35, and 50 J by striking the geometric center of the composite samples with a hemispherical impactor. The impact strengths of the composites were evaluated by comparing the contact force‐displacement, contact force‐time graphs, and impacted sample images. The types of damage occurring in each experimental sample were evaluated. Increasing the thickness had a positive effect on the impact strength of the composites. When the thickness of the composite plates increases, the peak contact force increases, the displacement decreases and capacity to carry impact loads increases due to the increased stiffness of the composites. However, except for the damaged 5 ± 0.1 mm thick bamboo and jute samples, the energy absorption ability of the samples generally increases with the increase of impact energy. Bamboo, jute, and hemp reinforced samples with a thickness of 2.5 ± 0.1 mm were completely perforated under 20 J impact energy. Also, it was determined that linen reinforced composites have the best impact resistance among natural fabric reinforced composites.Highlights Low‐velocity impact behavior of natural fiber fabric reinforced PMCs was studied. The impact strength of PMCs increased as the thickness increased. Linen reinforced composites had the best impact resistance. The main damage modes are matrix cracking and delamination at low‐impact energies. As the impact energy increases, perforation and fiber breakage or separations are observed.

Evaluation of the application of chemically adapted gourd fibre in polyester composite fabrication

Purpose Gourd fibres (GF) are a natural biodegradable fibre material with excellent mechanical properties and high tensile strength. The use of natural fibres in composite materials has gained popularity in recent years due to their various advantages, including renewability, low cost, low density and biodegradability. Gourd fibre is one such natural fibre that has been identified as a potential reinforcement material for composites. However, it has low surface energy and hydrophobic nature, which makes it difficult to bond with matrix materials such as polyester. To overcome this problem, chemically adapted gourd fibre has been proposed as a solution. Chemical treatment is one of the most widely used methods to improve the properties of natural fibres. This research evaluates the feasibility and effectiveness of incorporating chemically adapted gourd fibre into polyester composites for industrial fabrication. The purpose of this study is to examine the application of chemically modified GF in the production of polyester composite engineering materials. Design/methodology/approach This work aims to evaluate the effectiveness of chemically adapted gourd fibre in improving the adhesion of gourd fibre with polyester resin in composite fabrication by varying the GF from 5 to 20 wt.%. The study involves the preparation of chemically treated gourd fibre through surface modification using sodium hydroxide (NaOH), permanganate (KMnO4) and acetic acid (CH3COOH) coupling agents. The mechanical properties of the modified fibre and composites were investigated. It was then characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to determine the changes in surface morphology and functional groups. Findings FTIR characterization showed that NaOH treatment caused cellulose depolymerization and caused a significant increase in the hydroxyl and carboxyl groups, showing improved surface functional groups; KMnO4 treatment oxidized the fibre surface and caused the formation of surface oxide groups; and acetic acid treatment induced changes that primarily affected the ester and hydroxyl groups. SEM study showed that NaOH treatment changed the surface morphology of the gourd fibre, introduced voids and reduced hydrophilic tendencies. The tensile strength of the modified gourd fibres increased progressively as the concentration of the modification chemicals increased compared to the untreated fibres. Originality/value This work presents the designed composite with density, mechanical properties and microstructure, showing remarkable improvements in the engineering properties. An 181.5% improvement in tensile strength and a 56.63% increase in flexural strength were got over that of the unreinforced polyester. The findings from this work will contribute to the understanding of the potential of chemically adapted gourd fibre as a reinforcement material for composites and provide insights into the development of sustainable composite materials.

Beyond Economic Allocation: Investigating Alternative Coproduct Treatment Methods in Cotton Life Cycle Assessments

Highlights The multifunctionality of cotton cultivation is analyzed using different coproduct treatment methods. Changes in life cycle impacts with different coproduct treatments are higher than uncertainty in global data. Cereal unit and biophysical allocation are shown to be robust alternatives to economic allocation. Abstract. Cotton lint represents the largest natural textile fiber production globally, and as organizations strive to reduce their upstream environmental impacts, robust cotton life cycle assessment (LCA) data has never been more important. A key characteristic of cotton is that during its cultivation, it produces an important coproduct – cottonseed, and thus the impacts of the cultivation are partitioned between the cotton lint and cottonseed. How the environmental impacts of cotton production are split between the products is critical for measuring the environmental impacts. This study evaluates the effect of different coproduct treatment approaches on the life cycle impacts of cotton and presents the issues and limitations of these approaches. Approaches include partitioning (mass, economic, biophysical, and cereal units) and substitution, sometimes referred to as system expansion. Results show that when accounting for uncertainty in allocation and inventory, the global warming impact of global average cotton lint ranges between -0.01 and 4.24 CO2/kg of lint at the 95% confidence interval. Comparing the coproduct treatment approaches for cotton lint, a mass partitioning perspective tends to yield the lowest impacts, whereas economic partitioning along with substitution can yield larger impacts in other categories. The more recent cereal unit and biophysical allocation methods are identified as robust alternatives to economic allocation, overcoming its common issues and limitations. This study helps organizations interested in cotton understand the underpinnings of each approach and how coproduct treatment plays a role in LCA results. It also serves as a foundational work on coproduct treatment in agricultural contexts. Keywords: Allocation, Coproduct treatment, Cotton lint, Cotton sustainability, LCA.

Adsorption of aflatoxin B1 to corn by-products

The adsorption of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) to natural fiber materials prepared from corn by-products was investigated in this study. The results showed that corn cob powder (CCP) dose, particle size, time (0.25–24 h), temperature (4, 20, 37, 50 and 100 °C) and pH (2–8), had significant effects on adsorption. The maximum adsorption (98%) was with particles 500–355 µm in size at 20 °C for 8 h, at the dose of 50 mg mL−1. The adsorption fitted pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir isotherm well. Besides, CCP had a higher adsorption capacity to AFB1 than any single cell wall components of corn, which indicated that capillary effect happened in cell wall might be the main reason for adsorption. The results also suggested that CCP could reduce AFB1 content from both liquid and solid food matrixes. Briefly, CCP displayed promising properties that could be developed in nature-based practical applications for food aflatoxin decontamination.

Natural Fibrous Materials Based on Fungal Mycelium Hyphae as Porous Supports for Shape-Stable Phase-Change Composites.

Adsorption of organic phase-change materials (PCMs) by the porous matrix of microfibrillar cellulose (MFC) is a simple and versatile way to prepare shape-stable phase-change composites, which are promising as sustainable thermoregulating additives to construction materials. However, due to MFC inherent morphology, the resulting composites have relatively low poured density that complicates their introduction in sufficient amounts, for instance, into mortar mixes. Unlike MFC, fungal mycelium has, by an order, less fibrils thickness and, thus, possesses significantly higher poured density. Herein, we studied the feasibility of fungal mycelium-based matrices as alternative biopolymeric porous supports for preparation of sustainable and shape-stable phase-change composites. Two methods were employed to prepare the porous mycelium-based supports. The first one was the solid-state fermentation, which resulted in partial biotransformation of MFCs to mycelium hyphae, while the second one was the liquid-state surface fermentation, used to cultivate the reference matrix of Trametes hirsuta hyphae. The phase-change composites were prepared by adsorption of model organic PCMs on porous biopolymer matrices. The mass ratio of support/PCM was 40/60 wt%. The composites were studied with respect to their structure, composition, poured density, latent heat storage properties, and thermal and shape stability. The employment of the partially transformed to mycelium-hyphae MFC fibers was found to be a suitable way to prepare phase-change composites with improved poured density while preserving a reasonable latent heat capacity and shape stability as compared to the MFC/PCM composites.

Hybrid calotropis gigantea fibre-reinforced epoxy composites with SiO2’s longer-term moisture absorbable and its impacts on mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties

Opportunities for the fabrication of plant fiber hybrids using thermoplastics and thermosets may be found in a variety of industries, including automobiles and agriculture. This can lessen reliance on crude oil, which contributes to a number of sustainability problems. In the current study, calotropis gigantea fiber (CGF) and nanosilicon dioxide (SiO2)-derived hybridized materials’ mechanical, dynamic mechanical, and water absorption properties were examined. Utilizing varying weight proportions of nanoSiO2 (0, 1.5, 3, and 4.5 wt%) and 30 wt% of CGF, we manufactured the composite using the hand lay-up method. The moisture absorption of the manufactured composites was measured during periods of 500, 1000, and 2000 h. For composite materials containing 1.5 wt% SiO2, the highest interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) failure point was 12.52 MPa for 500 h, which is 12.32% lower than the breaking strength for dried products (14.28 MPa). In comparison to the dry specimens, the bending strength of hybrids with 1.5% SiO2 that were immersed in water for 500, 1000, and 2000 h decreased by 2.56%, 5.21%, and 9.65%, respectively. The storage modulus of the damp hybrids with 3% and 4.5 wt% SiO2 was higher than that of the dry samples in terms of their dynamic mechanical properties. While the inclusion of nano-SiO2 significantly reduced water absorption and moisture diffusion, especially for hybrid materials with 4.5 weight percent SiO2, the water-absorption behaviour of hybrid natural fiber materials followed the Fickian law. With prolonged exposure time, the mechanical properties of the nanocomposite, both with and without nano-SiO2, such as ILSS and bending strength, declined. Due to the effective distribution of filler in the matrices, the samples with 4.5 weight percent SiO2 exhibited the smallest drop in strengths for both the flexural and interlaminar examinations, although all of them remained stronger than the CGF blends. The outcomes of the study point to potential applications in areas such as automobile manufacture, agriculture, construction, and general manufacturing.

Shedding off-the-grid: The role of garment manufacturing and textile care in global microfibre pollution

Textile fibres are abundant anthropogenic pollutants. These fibres enter aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric environments, and biota. Textile fibres pose biological and chemical threats to the environments they pollute. Laundry is a primary source of synthetic and natural textile fibres. Fibre shed from laundry performed in electric washing machines is well characterised. However, over 50% of the global population does not have regular access to an electric washing machine. Without regular access to an electric washing machine, people launder ‘off-the-grid’ with locally specific methods. Their variable laundry methods present a significant challenge to quantifying microfibre shed. This study makes an original contribution to studies of fibre shedding. First, it details laundry protocols in a Global South community. Second, it assesses how textile structure influences fibre shedding independent of laundry practices. To do this, we deploy a hand laundry protocol learned during ethnographic fieldwork. We show that hand-washed garments shed fibres in numbers comparable to machine-washed garments. We show how garment construction (knit and weave) influences fibre shedding. We find fibre type (cotton or polyester) does not. People who hand wash clothing cannot change practices contributing to textile fibre pollution. Thus, industry must act to minimise fibreshed from laundry at the global scale. This entails transforming the design, manufacture, and sale of textiles.

Effect of velocity on compression and energy absorption sensitivity of coir fiber

Coir fiber, a natural plant fiber material, is known for its excellent shock absorption ability and potential to improve the performance of composite materials. This paper investigates the compression and energy absorption of coir fibers arranged horizontally and vertically at different speeds to determine their velocity sensitivity. A quasi-static compression speed test was conducted on coir fiber blocks using a universal testing machine. Load displacement changes were observed at speeds of 1 mm/Min, 2 mm/Min, 4 mm/Min, and 50 mm/Min, and Dynamic Increase Factor (DIF) was introduced to evaluate speed sensitivity. The microstructure of the fibers was evaluated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). According to the results, vertical fibers have better energy absorption characteristics than horizontal fibers, resulting in an increased energy absorption effect ranging from 25.7 % to 45.38 %. On the other hand, horizontal fibers exhibit high sensitivity under low-speed compression, with a significant increase in energy-absorbing effect as speed increases. However, this sensitivity is significantly reduced when compression occurs at high speed. The energy-absorbing effect of horizontal fibers increases from 6.96 % to 33.58 %. Vertically placed fibers, on the other hand, exhibit low sensitivity under low-speed compression but greater sensitivity as speed increases. As speed increases, the energy absorption effect becomes more apparent, resulting in an increase in the energy absorption of vertical fibers from 12.88 % to 17.99 %. This paper presents a methodology for evaluating the compression properties of coir fibers, which can be used as a reference for studying the impact resistance of natural fibers.