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Natural Fibre Composites with 3D Woven Reinforcement for New Application Areas

Note: This article was published under author name Julie A Soden, Dr. Soden changed her name upon marriage in 2012 to Brennan.

The research embodied in this paper is a culmination of research advancing the field of natural fibre reinforced composites. This international peer reviewed paper was selected for its pioneering approach to developing sustainable woven composite materials. Contributors in this issue were selected, high-profile experts that tackled issues on ‘Materials for a Low Carbon Future’ presented at the Natural Fibres ‘09 Conference in Dec 2009 at The Institute of Materials, London (opened by Lord Hunt, Minister for Energy and Climate Change). The author gave a keynote address at this conference. Materials that contribute to a prominent environmental agenda were presented, such as composite materials made from natural plant-based fibres as an alternative to synthetic petroleum based fibres.

This research is a comparative study between commercially available 2D bi-axial woven plied composite laminate and 3D reinforced woven multiple layer composites using both flax and naturally derived viscose yarns for natural fibre composite applications. The research determines the fabrics initial mechanical properties against standard fabric benchmarks. It highlights technical trade-off’s between old materials that fail in a familiar way and new materials that combat these failure mechanisms but fall slightly short (in certain tests) on enhanced properties. The work establishes both benefits and production challenges these materials face en-route to commercialisation and wider acceptance. The Journal of Biobased Materials and Bioenergy, published by American Scientific Publishers, USA covers ground-breaking fundamental and applied research related to bio-derived, bio-based materials and bio-energy, including applications in science, engineering and life sciences. With a Journal impact rating of 1.402, it is regarded at a high International level. Peer reviewed by 3 international experts in addition to the editor-in-chief’s review process.The paper was also a key outcome of AHRC project 3D Reinforced Natural Fibre Woven Preforms and Eco-composites’ (AH/E007953/1).

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