DEVELOPMENT AND OPTIMIZATION FOR TECHNICAL PURPOSES OF GREEN COMPOSITES' BASED ON MATRICES DERIVED FROM MODIFIED VEGETABLE OILS AND NATURAL FIBER REINFORCEMENTS

摘要

In the last years, new bio-materials coming from renewable resources have been developed for many applications, that cover a wide range of properties suitable for automotive and aeronautic industry. Recent advances in genetic engineering and composite materials science offer a great opportunity for the development of new improved "green composites" form renewable sources that in addition offer biodegradability and enhancing global sustainability. This environmentally friendly, low-cost composite can be a substitute for petroleum-based composite materials. In this work, a novel bio-based composite material composed by polylactic acid (PLA) and flax fibers mats, suitable for automotive applications, has been studied.