The Challenges and Future Perspective of Woven Kenaf Reinforcement in Thermoset Polymer Composites in Malaysia: A Review

Conceptual Design of a Sustainable Bionanocomposite Bracket for a Transmission Tower’s Cross Arm Using a Hybrid Concurrent Engineering Approach

This research article elaborates on the conceptual design development of a sustainable bionanocomposite bracket for bracing installation in composite cross arm structures. The product design development employed the hybrid techniques of the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ), morphological chart, and analytic network process (ANP) methods. The current bracket design in the braced composite cross arm is composed of heavy and easy-to-rust steel material. Therefore, this research aims to develop a new bionanocomposite bracket design to replace the heavy and easy-to-rust steel bracket. This research also aims to implement a concurrent engineering approach for the conceptual design of bionanocomposite bracket installation to enhance the overall insulation performance. A preliminary process was implemented, which covered the relationship between the current problem of the design and design planning to build a proper direction to create a new design product using TRIZ. Later, the TRIZ inventive solution was selected based on the engineering contradiction matrix with specific design strategies. From the design strategies, the results were refined in a morphological chart to form several conceptual designs to select the ANP technique to systematically develop the final conceptual design of the bionanocomposite bracket for the cross arm component. The outcomes showed that Concept Design 1 scored the highest and ranked first among the four proposed designs. The challenges of the bionanocomposite bracket design for cross arm structures and the improvement criteria in concurrent engineering are also presented.

Manufacturing defects of woven natural fibre thermoset composites

Thermoset polymer are components with high strength, chemical inert and thermally stable, due to its high degree of cross-linking. Natural fibre composite is providing a winning solution for extraordinary performances yet biodegradable. Woven form fibre even found better in specific energy absorption and stronger in strength. Fabricating woven thermoset composites may be done in a variety of ways. However, processing errors or manufacturing defects often occur by many factors, especially thermoset composites with natural fibre reinforcement. It is nearly impossible to achieves in detect-free when in lab scale production. Hence, it is important to study and understand the factors that causing the defects. Processing parameters, compatibility of matrix/fibre combination, yarn production and woven waiving skills may be the reasons of composite’s defects. In this chapter, several fabrication methods for woven thermoset composite were introduced. Some major defects on manufacturing the thermoset composites were highlighted. Some future perception of the woven natural fibre thermoset composite also have been discussed. This chapter set as a guidance to avoid or minimizes manufacturing defects upon thermoset composite processing.

Sugar Palm Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Composites: Influence of Chemical Treatments on Its Mechanical Properties

In the era of globalisation, decreasing synthetic resources, especially petroleum, have encouraged global communities to apply biomass waste as a substitute material for green technology development. The development of plastic products from lignocellulosic fibre-reinforced composites has been a hot topic among material scientists and engineers due to their abundance, sustainable in nature, and less toxic towards health. For the Malaysian scenario, sugar palm is a plant found in the wild and locally planted in certain areas in Malaysia and Indonesia. Generally, sugar palm can be harvested for traditional foods, fruits, starch sugar (gula kabung), and alcohol, whereas sugar palm fibre (SPF) is used in conventional products (brushes and brooms). Various researchers are working on the characterisation of fibre and its composites for engineering and packaging products. The main drawback of SPF is its hydrophilic behaviour, which leads to high moisture uptake and inhibits a good bond between the fibre and the matrix. Thus, a solution for this problem is by implementing chemical treatments on the fibre. From the literature review, no comprehensive review paper has been published on the influence of chemical treatment on the mechanical behaviour of SPF-reinforced polymer composites. Thus, the present review examines recent studies on the mechanical properties of sugar palm lignocellulosic fibres with various chemical treatments to evaluate their potential in structural applications.

Bamboo-Fiber-Reinforced Thermoset and Thermoplastic Polymer Composites: A Review of Properties, Fabrication, and Potential Applications

Natural-fiber-reinforced composites, especially bamboo, are an alternative material to compete with conventional materials. Their environmentally friendly, renewable, low-cost, low-density, non-toxic, and fully biodegradable properties are concerning for researchers because of their advantages over synthetic polymers. This comprehensive review presents the results of work on bamboo fiber composites with special reference to bamboo types, thermoplastic and thermoset polymers matrices, hybrid composites, and their applications. In addition, several studies prove that these properties are very good and efficient in various applications. However, in the development of composite technology, bamboo fiber has certain constraints, especially in moisture conditions. Moisture is one of the factors that reduces the potential of bamboo fiber and makes it a critical issue in the manufacturing industry. Therefore, various efforts have been made to ensure that these properties are not affected by moisture by treating the surface fibers using chemical treatments.

Product Development of Natural Fibre-Composites for Various Applications: Design for Sustainability

New product development review article aims to consolidate the principles and current literature on design for sustainability to seek the field’s future direction. In this point of view, the design for sustainability methods can be established under the idea of sustainability in dimensions of ecology, economy and social pillars. Design for sustainability concept is implemented in concurrent engineering, including concept, embodiment and detail design processes. Integrating sustainability in engineering designs is crucial to producing greener products, system innovation, and services aligned with current market demand. Currently, many concurrent engineering studies related to natural fibre-reinforced polymer composites associated with sustainability enhance the application of design for sustainability techniques by professional designers. However, the current literature is scarce in bridging the design for sustainability concept with concurrent engineering during the design development stage, and these areas should be further developed. Several other future research directions, such as the need for aligning with principles and applications, along with exploring the relationships between the design for sustainability techniques and views of sustainability, are presented in this review paper.

3D Printing and Shaping Polymers, Composites, and Nanocomposites: A Review

Sustainable technologies are vital due to the efforts of researchers and investors who have allocated significant amounts of money and time to their development. Nowadays, 3D printing has been accepted by the main industry players, since its first establishment almost 30 years ago. It is obvious that almost every industry is related to technology, which proves that technology has a bright future. Many studies have shown that technologies have changed the methods for developing particular products. Three-dimensional printing has evolved tremendously, and currently, many new types of 3D printing machines have been introduced. In this paper, we describe the historical development of 3D printing technology including its process, types of printing, and applications on polymer materials.

Development of Kenaf Biochar in Engineering and Agricultural Applications

The aim of this review is to investigate the recent development of kenaf derived biochar and its composites in various engineering and agricultural applications including nanostructure catalysts and polymer composites as kenaf biochar and activated carbon are mainly used as material adsorbents and soil amendments. A systematic review on the effect of process parameters of thermal decomposition, pyrolysis towards the production of desired biochar, therefore, is in crucial needs. Based on existing literature, the properties and production of kenaf biomass and resultant biochar are discussed in this paper. This analysis focuses on the unique characteristics of kenaf crops and the resulting biochar, which has a surprisingly large surface area and increased pore volume, to explain their prospective applications, whether in environmental utilization or engineering applications. Range of optimum surface areas for kenaf biochar are around 800–1000 m²/g where they show high adsorption properties. Whereas, the pore volume of activated carbon usually exceeds 1 cm³/g. Recent developments in engineered kenaf biochar technology and its future directions for research and development are also discussed.

Critical Review of Natural Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Composites: Processing, Properties, Applications and Cost

Increasing scientific interest has occurred concerning the utilization of natural fiber-enhanced hybrid composites that incorporate one or more types of natural enhancement. Annual natural fiber production is estimated to be 1,783,965 × 103 tons/year. Extensive studies have been conducted in the domains of natural/synthetic as well as natural/natural hybrid composites. As synthetic fibers have better rigidity and strength than natural fibers, natural/synthetic hybrid composites have superior qualities via hybridization compared to natural composites in fibers. In general, natural fiber compounds have lower characteristics, limiting the use of natural composites reinforced by fiber. Significant effort was spent in enhancing the mechanical characteristics of this group of materials to increase their strengths and applications, especially via the hybridization process, by manipulating the characteristics of fiber-reinforced composite materials. Current studies concentrate on enhancing the understanding of natural fiber-matrix adhesion, enhancing processing methods, and natural fiber compatibility. The optimal and resilient conceptions have also been addressed due to the inherently more significant variabilities. Moreover, much research has tackled natural fiber reinforced hybrid composite costs. In addition, this review article aims to offer a review of the variables that lead to the mechanical and structural failure of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites, as well as an overview of the details and costings of the composites.

Mechanical Performance and Applications of CNTs Reinforced Polymer Composites-A Review

Developments in the synthesis and scalable manufacturing of carbon nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely used in the polymer material industry over the last few decades, resulting in a series of fascinating multifunctional composites used in fields ranging from portable electronic devices, entertainment and sports to the military, aerospace, and automotive sectors. CNTs offer good thermal and electrical properties, as well as a low density and a high Young's modulus, making them suitable nanofillers for polymer composites. As mechanical reinforcements for structural applications CNTs are unique due to their nano-dimensions and size, as well as their incredible strength. Although a large number of studies have been conducted on these novel materials, there have only been a few reviews published on their mechanical performance in polymer composites. As a result, in this review we have covered some of the key application factors as well as the mechanical properties of CNTs-reinforced polymer composites. Finally, the potential uses of CNTs hybridised with polymer composites reinforced with natural fibres such as kenaf fibre, oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibre, bamboo fibre, and sugar palm fibre have been highlighted.

Thermogravimetric Analysis Properties of Cellulosic Natural Fiber Polymer Composites: A Review on Influence of Chemical Treatments

Natural fiber such as bamboo fiber, oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fiber, kenaf fiber, and sugar palm fiber-reinforced polymer composites are being increasingly developed for lightweight structures with high specific strength in the automotive, marine, aerospace, and construction industries with significant economic benefits, sustainability, and environmental benefits. The plant-based natural fibers are hydrophilic, which is incompatible with hydrophobic polymer matrices. This leads to a reduction of their interfacial bonding and to the poor thermal stability performance of the resulting fiber-reinforced polymer composite. Based on the literature, the effect of chemical treatment of natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites had significantly influenced the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) together with the thermal stability performance of the composite structure. In this review, the effect of chemical treatments used on cellulose natural fiber-reinforced thermoplastic and thermosetting polymer composites has been reviewed. From the present review, the TGA data are useful as guidance in determining the purity and composition of the composites’ structures, drying, and the ignition temperatures of materials. Knowing the stability temperatures of compounds based on their weight, changes in the temperature dependence is another factor to consider regarding the effectiveness of chemical treatments for the purpose of synergizing the chemical bonding between the natural fiber with polymer matrix or with the synthetic fibers.

Development and Characterization of Polypropylene Waste from Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)-Derived Char-Filled Sugar Palm Starch Biocomposite Briquettes

Slow pyrolysis using a batch reactor at 450 °C was applied to the polypropylene (PP) powder derived from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) isolation gown waste to yield char briquettes, using sugar palm starch (SPS) and a manual hydraulic press. These studies are significant because of reductions in plastic waste from the preparation of barbecue coal due to environmental sustainability. The results presented here include the physical, morphological, thermal, combustion, and mechanical properties of char when reinforced with various percentages of SPS loadings (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40%), which act as a matrix/binder to produce char/sugar palm starch (C/SPS) composites. The physical and morphological characteristics of C/SPS composites were determined using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). On the other hand, the thermal and combustion properties of the C/SPS briquettes were studied via thermogravimetric and bomb calorimeter analysis. The results show that the compressive strength of the briquettes increased as the SPS loading increased, whereas the higher heating values (HHV) reduced. The findings indicate that C-80/SPS-20 briquettes presented excellent combustion characteristics (1,761,430 J/g) with satisfactory mechanical strength (1.463 MPa) in the compression test. Thus, C-80/SPS-20 briquettes are the most suitable composites for domestic and commercial uses.