Various factors affecting the fatigue performance of natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites: a systematic review

• Published in: Iranian polymer journal Vol. 33; no. 2; pp. 249 - 271
• Main Authors: Bhowmik, Sumit, Kumar, Santosh, Mahakur, Vijay Kumar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-02-2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Absorption; Ceramics; Chemical treatment; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composite materials; Composites; Fatigue failure; Fatigue strength; Fiber composites; Fiber reinforced polymers; Glass; Heat treating; Load bearing elements; Maleic anhydride; Moisture absorption; Moisture effects; Natural Materials; Polymer matrix composites; Polymer Sciences; Polymers; Review; Stress concentration; Sustainability; Weight reduction; Test parameters; Polymeric composites; Fatigue; Hybridization; Natural fiber; Damage behavior
• ISSN: 1026-1265; 1735-5265
• DOI: 10.1007/s13726-023-01243-z

Due to rising environmental concerns, the reinforcement of natural fiber with polymer matrix to develop composite materials is gaining popularity in many sectors in the last few years due to greater availability, sustainability, environmental friendliness, and biodegradability. The composite materials used for various engineering sectors have mainly failed due to fatigue. So, it has become a necessity to understand the fatigue behavior and fatigue properties of the natural fiber polymer composites (NFPCs). Basically, the fatigue properties of any composite material are dependent on various factors such as loading condition, stress concentration, and physical, mechanical, and wear performances. Therefore, this review article deals with the fatigue performance of plant-based NFPCs and various factors that influence fatigue performance such as moisture absorption, chemical treatment, hybridization, different orientation, and mode of testing parameters. The article also focused on analyzing the mode of damage during fatigue failure with morphological analysis. The findings revealed that improper bonding between fibers and matrix caused by moisture effects has a negative effect on fatigue properties, which can be improved by using various approaches to treatment such as alkaline treatment, silane treatment, and maleic anhydride, as well as fiber hybridization, orientation, and stacking arrangements. The moisture absorption in NFPCs leads to degradation of fatigue properties, but due to hardening effect it might increase fatigue strength. Finally, it can be concluded that the use NFPCs can provide lighter weight materials with higher specific strength, stiffness, stability, and sustainability that has greater potential to be used for moderate load bearing and structural application instead of conventional and synthetic composites.
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