Natural Fibers to Composites: Process, Properties, Structures (Engineering Materials)

Natural fiber composites are a preferred alternative to conventional composites due to their environment-friendly nature. However, their market share is limited due to: a) limited number and quantities of natural fibers available for composites, b) diversity in fibers structure, c) poor mechanical properties of fibers as well as composites, d) susceptibility to microbial attacks, and e) cellulose degradation temperature around 200 deg C, which hinders the development of natural fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites using thermoforming at high temperatures. A number of researchers have contributed to the solution of the problem of poor mechanical properties and issues related to fabrication during the last decade. This book covers these different solutions. The book is divided into two principal themes: a) structure–property relationship: fibers to composites—it includes the discussion on fibers, their surface modifications, variation in the structure of reinforcement, and approaches for the enhancement of properties. b) Fabrication process of composites—it includes the novel approaches used for the development of natural fiber composites using the commingling technique for thermoplastic composites.

Yasir Nawab

Yasir Nawab is affiliated with the National Textile University, Faisalabad, Pakistan, as Associate Professor, and leading the Textile Composite Materials Research Group. His research areas are composite materials, 2D & 3D woven fabrics, and finite element analysis. He is the author of over 120 peer-reviewed journal articles, 5 books/book chapters, and over 50 conference communications. He is the founding Director of the National Center for Composite Materials. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Nantes, France, in the domain of composite materials in 2012, which was declared as Remarkable Ph.D. in science and Technology in that year. In 2013, he did his postdoc at the ONERA (The French Aerospace lab) and the University of Le Havre, France.

Abdelghani Saouab

Prof. Abdelghani Saouab has been working on the manufacturing of composite materials since 1991. He has developed nationally and internationally recognized expertise in the simulation of LCM (Liquid Composites Molding) processes and has conducted numerous collaborations with academic and industrial partners at the national and international levels.  He has been working at the University of Le Havre Normandy since 1991. He is the author of more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles, 2 books, 7 chapters in edited books, and 132 conference communications. 12 Post-Doc, 22 Ph.D. students, and 29 Master’s students in engineering have completed their degrees under his supervision, while the theses of 5 Ph.D. students are in progress.

Abdellatif Imad

Abdellatif IMAD is Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Lille, France. He holds a Ph.D. in Mechanics of Materials. His fields of research interests include mechanical of heterogeneous materials and biocomposites materials. He has thirty-two years of teaching and research experience.  He has published around one hundred papers in international and national journals.

Khubab Shaker

Khubab Shaker is Assistant Professor at National Textile University, Faisalabad-Pakistan. His areas of interest include fiber reinforced polymer composites, particle-loaded composites, natural fiber composites, and circular economy/sustainability. He has taught composite materials, design, and analysis to students are different levels. He is one of the most productive researchers in the composite materials domain at National Textile University Pakistan, with 65 impact factor publications, 3 edited books, 11 book chapters, and more than 25 conference papers and keynote talks.