Reinforced Polymer Composites

This book consisting of 21 articles including three review papers written by research groups of experts in the field considers recent research on reinforced polymer composites. Most of them relate to the fiber-reinforced polymer composites which are a real hot topic in the field. Depending on the reinforcing fiber nature such composites are divided into synthetic and natural fiber-reinforced ones. Synthetic fibers such as carbon glass or basalt provide more stiffness while natural fibers such as jute flax bamboo kenaf and others are inexpensive and biodegradable making them environmentally friendly. To acquire the benefits of design flexibility and recycling possibilities natural reinforcers can be hybridized with small amounts of synthetic fibers to make them more desirable for technical applications. Elaborated composites have great potential as structural materials in automotive marine and aerospace application as fire resistant concrete in bridge systems as mechanical gear pair as biomedical materials for dentistry and orthopedic application and tissue engineering as well as functional materials such as proton-exchange membranes biodegradable superabsorbent resins and polymer electrolytes.