Natural Fibre Reinforced Composite Laminates - A Review

In polymeric composite terms, natural fibre reinforcement is a manufactured assembly of long or short bundles of natural fibres to produce a flat sheet or mat of one or more layers of fibres. These layers are held together either by mechanical interlocking of the fibres them-selves or with a binder to hold these materials together giving the assembly sufficient integrity to be handled. Natural Fibre Composites are durable, have good maintenance, renewable, bio-degradable, combustible and cost effective, as compared to synthetic fibre composites. Research in this area will help in design and efficient usage of the natural fibres. This paper reviews various natural fibres, their physical properties, fibre fabric types, fabrication methods, stacking sequence & failure criteria. A ply drop-off laminate is also modelled & analysed using ANSYS to understand the behaviour of FRPs under axial load. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.