Experimental Studies on Thermal Behavior of Alkali Treated Groundnut Shell Particle Reinforced Polymer Composites (original) (raw)

Polymers reinforced with synthetic fibers such as glass, carbon and aramid yield advantages of high stiffness and strength to weight ratio as compared to conventional construction materials, i.e. wood, concrete and steel. In spite of these advantages, the predominant use of synthetic fiber-reinforced polymer composite has a tendency to decline because of its high-initial costs, use in non-efficient structural forms and most importantly adverse environmental impact. On the other hand, the increased interest in using natural fibers as reinforcement in plastics to replace traditional synthetic fibers in some structural applications has become one of the main concerns to study the potential of using natural fibers as reinforcement for polymers. In view of this, researchers are concentrating their attention on natural fiber composites (i.e. bio-composites), which are composed of natural or synthetic resins, reinforced with natural fibers. Subsequently, manufacturing of high-performance e...