Structural Application of Biocomposites in highly elastic Structures

Natural fibre-reinforced plastics (NFRP) are considered as environmentally-friendly materials due to their low energy demands during production, renewable components and recyclability. Despite their good specific mechanical properties, NFRPs are nowadays rarely applied in building constructions. The few existing academic studies tend not to consider completely bio-based composites (fibres and matrix) and in many cases make use of expensive manufacturing processes. Fully bio-based NFRP profiles can be produced economically by means of pultrusion technology. In this paper the potential for using pultruded NFRP profiles as beam components for highly elastic structures is discussed.