• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.127-136
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• 2017

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) has received widespread attention in the field of civil engineering because of its superior durability and corrosion resistance. This article presents the damage mechanisms of a novelty composite called carbon nanofiber modified flax fiber polymer (CNF-modified FFRP). The ability of acoustic emission (AE) to detect damage evolution for different configurations of specimens under uniaxial tension was examined, and some useful AE characteristic parameters were obtained. Test results shows that the mechanical properties of modified composites are associated with the CNF content and the evenness of CNF dispersed in the epoxy matrix. Various damage mechanisms was established by means of scanning electron microscope images. The fuzzy c-means clustering were proposed to classify AE events into groups representing different generation mechanisms. The classifiers are constructed using the traditional AE features -- six parameters from each burst. Amplitude and peak-frequency were selected as the best cluster-definition features from these AE parameters. After comprehensive comparison, a correlation between these AE events classes and the damage mechanisms observed was proposed.

• Composites Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.32-38
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• 2007

Natural fibers can refer to all types of fibres only produced by nature. Their lengths vary from particles to long strands. Natural fibers are categorized roughly by six types, depending on the types of sources; base, leaf, seed, grasses, fruit and wood. Of these fibers, jute, flax, sisal and ramie are the most commonly used as reinforced materials in preparing polymer composites. In development and improvement of these composites, many studies have been implemented to overcome the drawbacks such as incompatibility, moisture problems and so on. The range of industry sectors of natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites becomes more extensive gradually and many of the companies all over the world are engaged in fabrications or applications. This paper mainly discussed the recent status of the domestic/overseas market and research issues of natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites. We made an exception of wood-polymer composites market which have played a great role because they had been often dealt with.