Manufacturing and testing composites based on natural materials

This work focused on the development of composite structures fully based on natural materials. The developed sandwich structures are based on natural fibers and cork acting as a core. The natural fibers used resulted from compounding flax fibers with bio-resin. The core material is agglomerated cork. The aim of this study is to compare these natural structures against similar synthetic sandwiches based on fiberglass and epoxy resin. Several laminates were produced and then subjected to static and dynamic mechanical testing, carried out via bending and impacts tests respectively. After carefully analyzing the results, it was possible to conclude that the proposed materials show compatible mechanical properties and can even compete against synthetic materials. On top of that, natural materials keep the obvious advantage of eco-friendliness. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.