ABSTRACT
The combination of natural fibers with other materials to form composites is not new. It was some 3000 years ago that the first “natural” composite systems were being used-in that case it was for housing applications-clay, reinforced with straw was used to build walls of dwellings in ancient Egypt.1 With the development of more durable materials such as metals, the interest in “natural” materials was lost.2 It wasn’t until the early 1900s when natural materials reemerged as possible future materials for use within automotive applications.3
