Recent developments on characterization of needle-punched nonwoven fabric reinforced polymer composites - A review

Needle-punched nonwoven fabrics are having ample advantages for using as reinforcement in polymer composites, such as good z-directional strength which reduces delamination problems significantly. In addition, the nonwoven fabrics absorb resin easily because of the high void volume content of the fabric and thick parts can be produced in a cost-effective way. The compressibility nature of these fabrics also gains the advantage of giving different shapes easily. Engineering application and research activity in the field of composite nonwovens is therefore expected to grow to a large extent. In this paper, current research in the composite manufacturing and characterization of needle-punched nonwoven fabric-based composites is reviewed introducing with an overview of various fabrics and scope. It then discusses the physical, mechanical, thermal and tribological behaviour of composites with different resins and with various weight percentages. This review also covers the hybridization of fabric-based composites with different particulate fillers and the simulation of composite structures with different techniques. Finally, the review states the future scope of needle-punched nonwoven based composite materials. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 10th International Conference of Materials Processing and Characterization.