Deepak Verma

The Manufacturing of Natural Fibre-Reinforced Composites by Resin-Transfer Molding Process

Natural fibre composites became a most important and versatile theme of research. This area/theme not only utilizes the agricultural wastes such as rice husk, bagasse fibres, banana fibres, etc. but also provides a new material made from these wastes which are light in weight, have low cost, and have high mechanical strength. Nowadays, there are so many methods available for the processing or fabrication of polymer composites. Some of these methods are hand layup method, injection molding method, compression molding, spray-up method, resin-transfer molding (RTM), etc. In this chapter, we are specifically discussing about the RTM process and their important parameters for manufacturing of the polymer composites. Various mechanical properties and characterization of composite materials made by RTM have also been discussed and reported here.

Green Biocomposites: A Prospective Utilization in Automobile Industry

Natural fiber reinforced polymer composites becomes the most promising and identified research area. As these composites not only offer the good mechanical strength but also are light in weight and cost effective. The reasons of popularity of this area reside in many important parameters such as recyclability, biodegradability and environment friendly. Now scientists have developed biopolymer derived from corn, soy etc. which is used to reinforce the natural fibers and developed a fully biodegradable composite material. The application of the natural fiber composites not only found in the building and constructions sectors but also in the automotive and aircrafts structures sectors. In this chapter we are discussing about the Green Biocomposites and their utilization in the automobile fields. The chapter also highlighted a general class of the various available natural fibers and their application in the automotive sectors. This chapter also provides an insight of the safety measures such as crashworthiness of the vehicles. Also a review of the current research in the field of automotive industry is presented and some conclusions for the future vehicle design using composites are suggested.

Processing Techniques of Nanoclay Based Natural Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites

Natural fiber composite materials, also known as the bio-composite materials, are the most versatile materials which are used not only in the infrastructures purpose but also used in automotive applications. This usage generally depends upon their superior properties such as low weight and high strength. The other major problem related to environmental point of view can also solved by reinforcing the agro wastes (natural fibers) into the matrix system. In this chapter we are going to discuss about the nanoclay reinforcement in the polymer matrix system and its effect on various mechanical properties, such as tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, impact strength etc. Various conventional processing techniques for the development of the nanoclay reinforced composites and nanocomposites fabrication techniques are also discussed in the current chapter. The morphological studies (SEM) of the nanoclay composites are also shown in this chapter by considering the previous studies or literature.

Composites from Bagasse Fibers, Its Characterization and Applications

As an important branch of the composite materials field, natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites have been studied for decades. Natural fibers are originated from several sources such as cotton, nut, shells, bagasse, corncobs, bamboo, and vegetable. This work aims to discuss the different surface modification techniques of bagasse fibers including alkaline, silane, acetylation, and benzoylation treatments. The chapter also deals with the discussion on processing techniques of bagasse fiber-reinforced composite manufacturing and its mechanical and morphological properties. It also covers advantages of bagasse fiber reinforcement in composites and future trends and applications.