Plant Fiber Reinforcements as Alternatives in Pultruded FRP Composites Manufacturing: A Review

ABSTRACT

Recent developments of green technology promote the rising attraction toward developing high-performance and environmentally friendly pultruded products from naturally derived resources. Some factors that attract attention to developing pultruded biocomposites are their lightweight properties, recyclability, and economical and environmentally superior alternatives to synthetic fibers in commercial applications. Researchers have studied that the environmental crisis caused by conventional synthetic materials can be reduced significantly by using sustainable materials instead. This paper aims to review the potential of plant fibers to be used in pultruded composite manufacturing to reduce and replace the use of synthetic materials in pultruded structures. It was found that kenaf and jute fibers have been extensively studied in pultruded plant fiber reinforced composites and pultruded glass/plant fiber reinforced hybrid composites for their mechanical and physical properties under various test parameters. Overall, pultruded PFCs have recorded good mechanical properties but have limitations in water absorption properties for outdoor applications. An overview of the optimum process parameters, limitations, and potential applications of pultruded PFCs are also outlined. Finally, this review summarizes the future scopes and expectations, providing researchers and industrialists with a vision for deeper investigation in developing pultruded PFCs.

摘要

绿色技术的最新发展促使人们越来越倾向于利用自然资源开发高性能、环保的拉挤产品. 开发拉挤生物复合材料引起关注的一些因素是其轻质性能、可回收性以及在商业应用中合成纤维的经济和环保替代品. 研究人员研究表明，使用可持续材料可以显著减少传统合成材料造成的环境危机. 本文旨在综述植物纤维在拉挤复合材料制造中的潜力，以减少和取代拉挤结构中合成材料的使用. 研究发现，红麻和黄麻纤维在各种试验参数下的力学和物理性能已在拉挤植物纤维增强复合材料和拉挤玻璃/植物纤维增强混杂复合材料中得到广泛研究. 总体而言，拉挤PFCs具有良好的机械性能，但在户外应用的吸水性能方面存在局限性. 还概述了拉挤PFCs的最佳工艺参数、限制和潜在应用. 最后，这篇综述总结了未来的范围和期望，为研究人员和实业家提供了在开发拉挤全氟氯化碳方面进行更深入研究的愿景.

KEYWORDS:

• Plant fiber composite (PFC)
• pultrusion
• pultruded FRP composites
• sustainable materials

关键词:

• 植物纤维复合材料
• 拉挤
• 拉挤FRP复合材料
• 可持续材料

Highlights

• An overview of the optimum process parameters and characterization of pultruded PFCs from previous research work has been analyzed and highlighted.

• Implication of plant fibers such as kenaf and jute in pultruded plant fiber composites and pultruded hybrid glass/plant fiber composites show satisfactory properties and hence, proven the capability as alternatives to conventional pultruded fiberglass in low load and moderate load bearing structural applications respectively.

• Potential applications of plant fibers in pultruded FRP composites and their limitations were identified based on the mechanical and physical characterization of pure and hybrid pultruded PFCs.

• A huge scope of work and research gap ranging from process parameters optimization and material characterization to product development is discussed for pultruded PFCs to make it competitive to synthetic fibers in commercial applications.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia; Prince Sultan University; Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Product (INTROP) of Universiti Putra Malaysia and Manipal Academy of Higher Education for the close collaboration in this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors contributions

Conceptualization, TSB, MTHS, AUMS, and FSS; methodology, TSB, AUMS, and FSS; formal analysis, TSB; investigation, TSB; data curation, TSB; writing – original draft preparation, TSB; writing – review and editing, MTHS, TAS, FSS, SYN, and AAB; visualization, TSB; supervision, MTHS, AUMS, TAS, and AAB; project administration, MTHS, SYN, and TAS; funding acquisition, MTHS and SYN. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission. In contrast, the authors assisted in important tasks, such as manuscript preparation, clerical assistance, and technical assistance.

Data avalilability statement

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to thank Universiti Putra Malaysia for the financial support through Geran Inisiatif Putra Siswazah (GP-IPS) under grant number [9739200].