Mechanical Characterization of Natural Fiber Polymer Matrix Composites – A Review

Abstract

By the turn of the century, there have been numerous studies on fibers – Synthetic and natural – and their properties due to their immense application in structural, automotive, defense industry and other engineering fields. Moreover, there has been a remarkable shift in the study of fibers and this, in recent years has been mainly with natural fibers. This paradigm shift has taken place because of the ability of these materials to replace the conventional materials. This has helped us in better understanding, getting better results and achieving better material properties based on existing applications. This review paper deals with the existing natural fibers and the mechanical material properties of these fibers. Many different fibers along with their properties have been studied. These natural fibers were then mixed with resins and furthermore, the mechanical testing was then done on these fibers and the tests involved were mainly tensile, flexural, impact and hardness tests. All these tests have followed the regulations specified by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). The results derived from the literature review have been concluded in this review paper.