Flammability and fire resistance of composites reinforced by natural fibers

Natural fiber-reinforced composites are more and more frequently applied to building industry and transportation. Therefore, the knowledge of their behavior during fire is of high importance. Flammability is one of very important parameters that often limits the application of composites to a given area. It is well-known that addition of lignocellulosic fibers to polymer changes mechanical properties of the product obtained. However, little information is available on their fire performance. The purpose of this review was to obtain fire performance data for several types of composites reinforced by lignocellulosic fibers. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.