Journal of Materials Research and Technology (Jan 2020)

Guaruman fiber: another possible reinforcement in composites

  • Raphael Henrique Morais Reis,
  • Larissa Fernandes Nunes,
  • Michelle Souza Oliveira,
  • Valdir Florêncio de Veiga Junior,
  • Fabio Da Costa Garcia Filho,
  • Miriane Alexandrino Pinheiro,
  • Verônica Scarpini Candido,
  • Sergio Neves Monteiro

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 1
pp. 622 – 628

Abstract

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Natural lignocellulosic fibers (NLFs) have been investigated, especially in the past decades, as promising reinforcement in composite materials for engineering applications. The interest regarding the use of NLFs is associated with advantages such as low density and high mechanical strength as well as low toxicity and cost-effectiveness. In addition, NLFs are also considered as environmentally friendly materials. Indeed, they are biodegradable and obtained from renewable resources. In this paper, a relatively unknown Amazonian NFL, the guaruman fiber, was for the first time physically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The density of the fibers was measured and statistically analyzed by the Weibull distribution. It was verified that the guaruman fiber presents one of the lowest densities, 0.50–0.64 g/cm3, for NLFs ever reported in the literature. Furthermore, it was disclosed for the first time the crystallinity index, 60–67%, mechanical strength, 614 MPa, microfibril angle, 7.3–8.2°, and cross-section morphology microstructure for the guaruman fiber. Keywords: Guaruman fiber, Natural lignocellulosic fiber, X-ray diffraction, Density, Morphology characterization