Chapter 14 State of the art of advanced fiber materials: future directions, opportunities, and challenges
Bhuvaneshwaran Mylsamy, Karthik Aruchamy, Sampath Pavayee Subramani, Sathish Kumar Palaniappan, Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa, Suchart Siengchin
Abstract
The most investigated issues over the past several years have been the use of natural fibers in replacing man-made fibers. This is a result of their natural qualities, which are superior to synthetic fibers in terms of biodegradability, renewability, and abundance of availability. Since synthetic fibers are made of limited resources (fossil fuels), they are primarily impacted by changes in oil prices and their build up mostly in the environment. Even synthetic fibers replace natural fibers in terms of their mechanical and thermal characteristics. Combining these fibers/fillers as reinforcing for different polymeric composite materials provides the potential for developing structures and materials with multiple functions for leading applications. Since biological and synthetic materials individually have benefits and drawbacks, different materials have been utilized in combination and in a composite form to enhance the physicochemical, mechanical, and biological qualities.