based on glass and petrochemical fibres. Due to their good
lightweight construction potential and good crash characteristics,
they are used more and more as reinforcement for
construction materials. Nevertheless, application is often
limited to non-visible components in the automobile industry
[1] or to products for which there is little demand like salvers
or briefcases. In order to conquer further areas of application
and to satisfy the increasing demand for natural composites,
new high-quality materials need to be designed, and further
material combinations need to be tested.
The strength of the bond of fibre and matrix is substantial
for the mechanical properties of a composite. Fibre/
matrix adhesion is a complex process with many factors
interacting with each other. It can be affected by the choice
of materials, manufacturing methods, processing parameters,
surface treatments of the fibres or by additives like
adhesive agents. Thus, several studies dealing with the
optimisation of fibre/matrix adhesion in natural fibre-reinforced
composites have already been conducted.
Bhat et al. examined the adhesion between fibres and
different thermoplastic matrices. For this purpose, they
produced cotton composites with matrices in the form of
foils or fibres. Then they examined the composites’
mechanical properties; the best fibre/matrix adhesion and the
highest composite strength could be achieved by using a
matrix in the form of fibres. In addition, the processing
parameters during production have a decisive influence on
the composite properties [2]. For example, Mu¨ ller et al.
examined the influence of the processing temperature on the
strength of natural fibre-reinforced thermoplastics. The
result is a temperature curve which indicates that a too low
press temperature (too high viscosity of the matrix) as well as
a too high press temperature (start of fibre degradation) leads
to a decreased composite strength [3]. Likewise, pre-treating
the fibres with different chemicals has a strong influence on