Aging Effects on Natural Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites

Chandrasekar Muthukumar, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai, India. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical engineering from the Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore, India. His master’s degree is in aerospace engineering from the Nanyang Technological University – TUM Asia, Singapore and his PhD in aerospace engineering is from the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Malaysia. His PhD was funded through a research grant from the Ministry of Education, Malaysia. During his association with the UPM, he obtained internal research funding from the university worth 16,000 and 20,000 MYR, respectively. He has 5 years of teaching and academic research experience. His interests include fiber metal laminates (FMLs), natural fibers, biocomposites, additive manufacturing and non-destructive testing. His publications are based on the fabrication and characterization techniques of biocomposites. He has authored and co-authored research publications in SCIE journals, book chapters, and articles in the conference proceedings. He is a peer reviewer for the Journal of Industrial Textiles, Polymer Composites, Materials Research Express, Journal of Natural Fibres, etc.   Senthilkumar Krishnasamy, PhD, is a Research Scientist at the Center of Innovation in Design and Engineering for Manufacturing (CoI-DEM), King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Anna University, Chennai, India, in 2005. He earned a master’s degree in CAD/CAM at Anna University, Tirunelveli, India, in 2009. He earned a PhD in mechanical engineering at Kalasalingam University, Krishnankoil, Tamilnadu, India in 2016. From 2010 to 2018, Dr. Krishnasamy worked in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education (KARE), India. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia and King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB) under the research topics of experimental investigations on mechanical, morphological, thermal, and structural properties of kenaf fiber/mat epoxy composites and sisal composites and fabrication of eco-friendly hybrid green composites on tribological properties in a medium-scale application. His area of research includes the modification and treatment of natural fibers, nanocomposites, 3D printing, and hybrid reinforced polymer composites. He has published research papers in international journals, book chapters, and at conferences in the field of natural fiber composites. He also edits books with different publishers.   Senthil Muthu Kumar Thiagamani, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education (KARE), Tamil Nadu, India. In 2004, he earned a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering at the State Board of Technical Education and Training, Tamil Nadu. In 2007, he graduated from Anna University, Chennai with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. In 2009, he obtained his Master’s degree in Automotive Engineering at Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore. In 2018, he earned a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in Biocomposites, at KARE. He completed postdoctoral research in the Materials and Production Engineering Department at the Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), KMUTNB, Thailand in the year 2019. He started his academic career in 2010 as Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at KARE. He has around 12 years of teaching and research experience. He is a visiting researcher at KMUTNB, Thailand. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and the International Association of Advanced Materials. His research interests include biodegradable polymer composites and their characterization. He has authored several articles in peer-reviewed international journals and book chapters and in conference proceedings. He has edited books on the different themes of Biocomposites published by CRC Press, John Wiley and Springer. He also serves as a reviewer for various journals to name few are Journal of Industrial Textiles, Journal of Cleaner Production, Materials Today Communications, Journal of Polymers and the Environment, SN Applied Sciences, Mechanics of Composite Materials, and International Journal of Polymer Science.   Suchart Siengchin, PhD, is the President of King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), Thailand. He earned a Dipl-Ing in mechanical engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Giessen/Friedberg, Hessen, Germany, in 1999; an MSc in polymer technology at the University of Applied Sciences Aalen, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, in 2002; an MSc in materials science at the Erlangen-Nürnberg University, Bayern, Germany, in 2004; a PhD in engineering (Dr-Ing) at the Institute for Composite Materials, University of Kaiserslautern, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, in 2008; and a postdoctoral research at Kaiserslautern University and the School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, USA. In 2016, he received the habilitation at the Chemnitz University in Sachsen, Germany. He worked as a Lecturer for Production and Material Engineering Department at the Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), KMUTNB. He has been a full-time professor at KMUTNB and became the President of KMUTNB. He received the Outstanding Researcher Award in 2010, 2012, and 2013 at KMUTNB. His research interests include polymer processing and composite materials. He is Editor-in-Chief of KMUTNB International Journal of Applied Science and Technology and the author of more than 150 peer-reviewed journal articles. He has participated with presentations at more than 39 international and national conferences with respect to materials science and engineering topics. 

Introduction to aging in Bio-composites.- Effect of water absorption on the tensile, flexural and impact properties of Bio-composites.- Effect of moisture absorption on shear properties of the bio-composites.- Fatigue life prediction of bio-composites subjected to environmental aging.- Aging effects on creep properties of the bio-composites.- Degradation effects and response of completely biodegradable composites to moisture absorption and water aging.- Influence of sea water aging on the physical and mechanical properties of the natural fiber reinforced composites8. Hygrothermal aging and their influence on mechanical properties of the bio-composites.- Degradation effects on the mechanical and thermal properties of the bio-composites due to accelerated weathering.- Effects of natural weathering on aesthetics, thermal and mechanical properties of the bio-composites.- Influence of moisture absorption on the physical and mechanical properties of the natural fiber based hybrid composites.- Performance of natural fiber based nanocomposites under environmental aging conditions.- Influence of moisture absorption on mechanical properties of the bio-composites reinforced with surface modified natural fibers.- Effect of compatibilizer on the aging and degradation mechanism of the natural fiber/ thermoplastic composites.- Recent studies on modelling of the hygrothermal aging in natural fiber reinforced composites.- Suitability of bio-composites for the indoor and outdoor applications.