Effect of Interfacial Bonding Characteristics on Fatigue Behavior of Hemp Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites

Demand for eco-friendly, sustainable and biodegradable natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites (NFRPs) are continuously expanding as global environmental concerns and awareness of renewable green resources continue to grow. Due to their superior physicochemical and mechanical properties, natural fibers already occupied a significant place in the composites industry. NFRPs are widely used in the automobile, aerospace, personal protective clothing, sports, and medical industries as alternatives to costly and nonrenewable petroleum-based synthetic fiber-reinforced composite materials. Cannabis sativa L. (Hemp) has received a lot of attention because of its multipurpose usability, short production cycle, low capital demand in cultivation, possibility of carbon-negative transformation, and easy carbon sequestering material. Hemp fiber cultivation and extraction techniques, their physicochemical properties, and technical feasibility for composite structures were discussed in this chapter. In addition, diverse types of polymer matrices including synthetic polymers and biopolymers were briefly discussed. The interfacial bonding between fiber and matrix, which determines the ultimate properties of composites, has not been found satisfactory in recent studies. Therefore, a significant amount of research is currently underway to improve interfacial adhesion between natural fibers and polymer matrices. The recent techniques to improve the interfacial bonding and the effects of interfacial bonding on fatigue behavior such as stress–strain hysteresis, strain energy, viscoelasticity, and hysteretic energy dissipation properties of hemp fiber reinforced polymer composites (HFRPs) were precisely discussed. This chapter concluded by mentioning the diverse types of existing challenges associated with HFRPs and providing the necessary future research directions as well.