Journal of Materials Science, Vol.56, No.7, 4569-4587, 2021
Abaca fibre reinforced polymer composites: a review
Natural fibre reinforced polymer composites are used in structural applications for production of light weight components due to their high specific strength. Abaca fibre as reinforcement in polymer matrices became popular due to applications of its polymer composite in production of exterior components of passenger cars. The present review emphasises on the properties, treatments and extraction of abaca fibre. It also provides an overview of research works related to preparation and properties (mechanical, structural and thermal properties) of abaca fibre reinforced polymer composites. Moreover, it also highlights the research gaps from available literatures, which brings out the paucity of literatures on modelling and simulation of mechanical properties of abaca composites based on polymer matrices like polyester, polylactide, epoxy, phenol formaldehyde, high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polystyrene.