A comprehensive review on material selection for polymer matrix composites subjected to impact load

Polymer matrix composites (PMC) are extensively been used in many engineering applications. Various natural fibers have emerged as potential replacements to synthetic fibers as reinforcing materials composites owing to their fairly better mechanical properties, low cost, environment friendliness and biodegradability. Selection of appropriate constituents of composites for a particular application is a tedious task for a designer/engineer. Impact loading has emerged as the serious threat for the composites used in structural or secondary structural application and demands the usage of appropriate fiber and matrix combination to enhance the energy absorption and mitigate the failure. The objective of the present review is to explore the composite with various fiber and matrix combination used for impact applications, identify the gap in the literature and suggest the potential naturally available fiber and matrix combination of composites for future work in the field of impact loading. The novelty of the present study lies in exploring the combination of naturally available fiber and matrix combination which can help in better energy absorption and mitigate the failure when subjected to impact loading. In addition, the application of multi attributes decision making (MADM) tools is demonstrated for selection of fiber and matrix materials which can serve as a benchmark study for the researchers in future. (C) 2020 China Ordnance Society. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co.

Automated summary

Polymer matrix composites are widely used in engineering applications, with various natural fibers emerging as potential replacements to synthetic fibers. The selection of appropriate constituents for a particular application is a tedious task. Impact loading poses a serious threat to composites, requiring the usage of suitable fiber and matrix combination for enhanced energy absorption and failure mitigation.