ABSTRACT
Mineral-reinforced polymer composites have been employed for several applications because of their low cost, light weight, excellent rigidity and high mechanical strength. With rapid development of the automobile industry, environmental pollution, energy shortages and safety requirements have become major issues that need to be solved urgently, and the utilization of polymer composites as automobile parts is one of the main approaches to lightweight automobiles. However, ageing (weathering) or environmental influences can alter the performance of mineral-reinforced polymer composites. Therefore, in this chapter, the techniques of processing, applications, and ageing of mineral-reinforced polymer composites are presented. Also, the effects of ageing on the properties of mineral-reinforced polymer composites are reviewed. The studies about the most widely used mineral fillers, such as glass fiber, glass bead, talc, wollastonite and calcium carbonate, are reported.
