Natural fibre reinforced biopolymers to be used as structurals materials

By embedding natural reinforcing fibres e.g. flax, hemp, ramie etc. into a bio-polymeric matrix made of derivatives from cellulose, starch, lactic acid etc., new fibre reinforced materials, the so-called bio-composites, were created at the DLR Institute of Structural Mechanics in 1989 and are still being developed. Regarding the mechanical properties, bio-composites have been comparable to the will-known glass fibre reinforced compounds right from the start but now can actually replace them. Therefore the new construction materials are very well suited to be used for anisotropic and specially tailored lightweight structural parts making use of the DLR know how in fibre reinforced technology. In this report the latest results of new fibre/matrix combinations and examinations on environmentally compatible flame retardants will be presented. Whereas traditional compounds consist of very stable components being very difficult to decompose, bio-composites are made completely from biologically renewable resources. This offers additional options of a convenient removal after the end of lifetime, i.e. biodegradation of composting of the biodegradable kinds of bio-composites or combustion of the more stable ones which is carbon dioxide neutral and completely slag-free. Thus bio-composites can also meet the steadily increasing environmental demands of legislative authorities