Research Article Open Access

Selecting Natural Fibers for Bio-Based Materials with Conflicting Criteria

Faris M. AL-Oqla1, Mohd Sapuan Salit2, Mohamad Ridzwan Ishak3 and Nuraini Abdul Aziz1
  • 1 Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 2 Laboratory of Bio-Composite Technology, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

Proper material selection enhances both desired physical and meta-physical properties of the end user products. Due to the growing awareness of the environmental issues as well as the industrial sustainability, the Natural Fiber Composites (NFCs) have recently emphasized to be implemented in various industrial applications. The final product features of such composites depend on the integrated characteristics of both matrix and fillers properties. Selecting an appropriate natural fiber type to form an NFC is affected by several factors and criteria. Up-to-date, natural fibers are evaluated regarding limited number of criteria. This study, introduces a proper integrated evaluation and selection scheme for the natural fibers and their capabilities considering integrated evaluation. Results demonstrate that better evaluation of natural fibers regarding wide range of criteria would lead to better decisions regarding selecting the suitable NFCs for industrial applications and enhance achieving better performance. Such evaluations should consider combined economic and environmental characteristics as well as technical ones. New potential fiber types can be discovered and utilized through better evaluations using combined desired criteria.

American Journal of Applied Sciences
Volume 12 No. 1, 2015, 64-71

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2015.64.71

Submitted On: 20 November 2014 Published On: 16 March 2015

How to Cite: AL-Oqla, F. M., Salit, M. S., Ishak, M. R. & Aziz, N. A. (2015). Selecting Natural Fibers for Bio-Based Materials with Conflicting Criteria. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 12(1), 64-71. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2015.64.71

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Keywords

  • Natural Fibers
  • Fibers’ Selection
  • Date Palm Fibers
  • Polymeric Composites
  • Capability Performance
  • Conflicting Criteria