Short fibers wood-polymer composites

For thousands of years, men have been using natural composite materials. Materials such as wood [a polymer-polymer composite made of cellulose fibers in a lignin/hemi-cellulose matrix], bone [a polymer-ceramic composite made of hydroxyapatite reinforced with collagen fibers], teeth, and ivory are natural composites. In ancient Egypt, more than 5000 years ago, brick makers added short lengths of straw to Nile mud mixed with sand and water, in order to improve the mechanical properties of the bricks. In Mesopotamia too, this combination of materials was employed to make tubes designed for the transportation of water. 

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