Reinforced plastics overview

Unfilled and unreinforced plastics have high calorific values, low moisture contents and therefore gasify, ignite quickly and incinerate at low temperatures [22]. The calorific value of reinforced plastics depends on their chemical composition and the portion of mineral filling and reinforcing materials. Table 8 provides an overview of the calorific values of different materials. 

This chapter first gives an overview of cellulose raw materials and their molecular and supermolecular structures. The principles of shaping cellulose into fibres, films, and nonwovens by means of solution techniques are then outlined followed by a section on properties and market applications of these materials. Derivatives of cellulose are presented with special emphasis on thermoplastic cellulose esters, typical plasticizers, and promising reinforcing materials. Finally, recent developments and future prospects of cellulose materials are reviewed as far as the above applications are concerned. This book does not cover the important applications of cellulose and ligno cellulose fibres for reinforcing thermoplastics, like wood plastic composites (WPC) and natural fibre reinforced plastics (NFRP), since in these cases cellulose does not substitute a thermoplastic. 

Table 3. Overview of the most important health hazards associated with some resin systems and solvents used in the fibre-reinforced plastics industry. data indicating effect - data indicating no effect O uncommon or poorly documented effects. Blank spaces (except in the last column) indicate that no or very little data are available in the literature...

An overview of the most-important health hazards associated with some resin systems and solvents used in the fibre-reinforced-plastics industry have been summarised in Table 3. 

Edwards K L (1998) An overview of the technology of fibre-reinforced plastics for design purposes . Mater Design, 19, 1-10. 

Summerscales J (1987) Shear modulus testing of composites. In Proceedings 4th international conference on composite structures, vol 2, Paisley, 27-29 July 1987. Elsevier, pp 305-316 Summerscales J (ed) (1987/1990) Non-destructive testing of fibre reinforced plastics composites, 2 vols. Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, ISBN 1-85166-093-3 ISBN 1-85166-468-8 Summerscales J (1990) NDT of advanced composites—an overview of the possibilities. Br J Non-Destr Test 32(ll) 568-577 Summerscales J (1994) Non-destructive measurement of the moisture content in fibre-reinforced plastics. Br J Non-Destr Test 36(2) 64-72 Summerscales J (1994) Manufecturing defects in fibre-reinforced plastics composites. Insight 36( 12) 936-942... 

Silicon-containing preceramic polymers are useful precursors for the preparation of ceramic powders and fibers and for ceramic binder applications (i). Ceramic fibers are increasingly important for the reinforcement of ceramic, plastic, and metal matrix composites (2, 3). This chapter will emphasize those polymer systems that have been used to prepare ceramic fibers. An overview of polymer and fiber processing, as well as polymer and fiber characterization, will be described to illustrate the current status of this field. Finally, some key issues will be presented that must be addressed if this area is to continue to advance. 

Table 28 provides an overview of the effects of known fillers and reinforcing materials on the property profiles of plastics. 

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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