Loading ...The summer issue of Composites Manufacturing magazine will feature a showcase of notable composites research to emerge recently from universities. Take a look at some of these remarkable achievements.
These days, environmentally-friendly composites are permeating the marketplace and the technology is seen as a viable alternative. But, these solutions weren’t always smiled upon. Just ask University of Mississippi Professor Ellen Lackey, who began working on natural fiber composites at the turn of the century. “We faced skepticism from the composites community because people hadn’t adopted the idea of green composites yet and we had to convince people it was viable,” she says.
Lackey’s vision was to use natural fibers (specifically, industrial hemp) in pultruded composites with polyester resins and bio-based polyurethane resins. “The natural fibers had been used in some of the thermoplastic applications, but very few people had looked at thermosets with natural fibers,” says Lackey.
Natural fibers are emerging as a viable pultrusion option.
The school used the hemp as a hybrid reinforcement along with e-glass. “We thought that despite a slightly lower strength, the hybrid could still be a useful material and allow us to utilize the natural fiber. We also looked at surface modifications because one of the issues with natural fiber resin adhesion and resin/fiber compatibility.”
“Countries like India have a more abundant supply and market for hemp,” says Lackey. “While the perception of hemp is changing in the U.S., obstacles to wider adoption remain. Industrial hemp is not the same as marijuana hemp, but it is still regulated by the government. As such, farmers can’t grow industrial hemp in the U.S. If anyone wants to use it, they would have to import it from other countries.”
Intrigued? Don’t miss the summer issue of Composites Manufacturing, which delves deeper into university innovations in FRP, bio-composites, defense protection, and more!
