hey guys,
I was wondering whats the scope of natural fiber composites and is any one here is dealing with those kinds of composites
Good question
We have some in our program. Mostly flax fibers (we have some very nice flax multiaxials from Selcom, Italy).
Used with a 50% “green” epoxy or (infusable) polyester, you can produce relatively “green” products.
One of the products by one of our customers is a 7 meter sailboat. (cored with cork).
I did some production tests with flax/epoxy prepreg. Supposed to be used in automotive constructions to dampen out vibrations. I never got to the point of doing tests for that. I wasn’t really impressed by the strength, but it is light, and can be used for visual application.
Was that a woven or a non-woven?
The car industry loves natural fibers, to get their cars more green. Mostly used in non-structural parts, like door liners, floors, etc.
woven, from lineo.
don’t think joop cares about green cars 
I have heard the jute fiber as raw material.,is it that?
There are several options:
jute
flax (linen)
hemp
and more tropical stuff, like sisal, coconut fibers, etc
hi Mr herman ,i am new here and i dont know how to post private message ?? i would like to buy some product of urs so hppe u can assist me to choose
That’s cool… I have been researching on Hemp and Sisal fibers… definitely its not very impressive in terms of strength and stuff … i don’t even any one here knows about chopping or grinding those fibers into small size of less than 10mm…
mail me at hbrouwerjr at brandscomposiet dot nl
We did not chop them up. Just used them in wovens, and now multiaxials.
The selection basicly is based on what is available right now. Which is not very much.
Does anyone know of any US suppliers for organic fibers? I have found Canada and Europe, but I have had no luck at all in getting replies or finding US suppliers.
Yes, but basalt is melted from a volcanic stone, and glass is mostly sand. So what is the difference in “natural fibre” between sand and stone? Besides the obvious differences in their respective specifics.
(basalt is heavier than flax and other bio-based fibres too)
Hmm that’s true but:
"Reportedly, basalt also is superior in the realm of worker safety and air quality as well. Markuts points out that since basalt is the product of volcanic activity, the fiberization process is more environmentally safe than that of glass fiber. The “greenhouse” gases that might otherwise be released during fiber processing, he says, were vented millions of years ago during the magma eruption. Further, basalt is 100 percent inert, that is, it has no toxic reaction with air or water, and is noncombustible and explosion proof. "
I suppose since you are looking for natural fibers you are looking for something more environmentally friendly?
Unfortunately if you look at the whole picture is is not always black and white (man made fiber = bad , Natural Fiber = good). For example while bamboo fiber looks like a good natural replacement for fiberglass, to process to extract the fibers is quite toxic.
So I still think Basalt looks pretty good.
Careful guys, basalt has been the subject of studies relating to carcinogenic effects.
The following one shows asbestos to be worse, but I know there is still some reservation around its use.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1567289/
Cellucomp would be a good place to start, I cannot say what the commercial availability is for their product is.
It was around 2007 when I first heard about natural fibres being used in composites.
Curran has been used to build award winning fishing rods from its base ingredient - the humble carrot.
It’s claimed properties are so good, they found their way into the rules/ permitted materials for the 33rd America’s Cup.