Automobile industry natural fiber composites

Several of these natural fiber composites reach the mechanical properties of glass fiber composites, they are already being used in the automobile and furniture industries. Up to now, the most important natural fibers were jute, flax, and coir. 

Various automotive parts made of natural fiber composites are shown in Table 22.16. The use of plant fiber (sisal/flax/hemp etc.) based automobile parts such as trim parts, various panels, shelves, and brake shoes are attracting automobile industries worldwide because of its weight reduction, energy and cost saving. Conservative estimates indicate that about 6,000 TPA plant fiber-based composite parts can find their way into passenger cars and multi-utility vehicles [17]. 

Cellulose in the form of natural fibers is finding enormous application in various fields. Plant fibers obtained from the leaf, seed, and stem of plants are used as reinforcement in various matrices and the resulting composites, which are eco friendly, are finding application in various fields like automobile, building etc. Satyanarayana et al. reviewed the potential of natural fiber as a resource for industrial materials [36, 37]. 

While cellulose fiber reinforced polypropylene (PP) is already used by default for example in the automobile industry for interior parts (Karas and Kaup, 2005), the conventional use of cellulose fiber reinforced PLA is still at the beginning. But there are also some products such as biodegradable urns, mobile phone shells or prototypes of spare tyre covers made from natural fiber reinforced PLA at the market (Anonymous, 2007 Iji, 2008 Grashom, 2007). Maty studies deal with the use of natural fibers as reinforcements in PLA composites. An overview about the mechanical characteristics and apphcation areas of natural fiber-reinforced PLA can be foimd for example in Bhardwaj and Mohanty (2007), Avella et al. (2009), Ganster and Fink (2006), Jo-noobi et al. (2010), and Graupner et al. (2009). For the improvement of the composite characteristics it is still necessary to carry out optimization processes for fibers, PLA matrix and the interactions of both. Moreover the processing parameters, force elongation characteristics of fibers and matrix as well as the use of additives like plasticizers or adhesion promoters have decisive influences on the mechanical characteristics of the composites. 

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