A review on recent development in carbon fiber reinforced polyolefin composites

Abstract

Light-weight materials have received a lot of attention lately in fabricating various components for industrial applications, in particular for those in automotive and aerospace. More specifically, fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have paved a niche path in successfully demonstrating themselves as a feasible alternative to heavy metal components. Traditional FRPs are based on epoxy resin which are reinforced with high performing fibers like carbon fiber (CF). However, recycling epoxy-based composites are quite complicated after their end-of-life. On the other hand, thermoplastics are cheaper, easy to process, and are also easily recyclable. Widely used polyolefins like polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) could be suitable resin of choice for fabricating CF reinforced composites, but low mechanical performance of such composites limits their applications. The present study incorporates various attempts made over the years in improving mechanical properties of such polyolefin-based CF reinforced composites and understanding the role of different parameters on their performance.

Keywords

• Carbon fiber
• Polypropylene
• Polyethylene
• Polymer composite
• Thermoplastic