Damping behavior of plant fiber composites: A review

This paper reviews the damping characteristics of plant fiber composites (PFCs) with particular attention regarding their performance with respect to that of synthetic fiber composites (SFCs). Indeed, PFCs have become increasingly popular in many application fields. Their specific characteristics when compared to those of synthetic fibers, such as glass fibers, make them good candidates to improve the damping behavior of composite materials and structures. The influences of mesoscale and microscale parameters as well as surrounding conditions are reviewed in the present paper. Contradictory reports are sometimes found, and the existing knowledge on the damping behavior of PFCs is sometimes deficient or ambiguous. Some key points, such as the variability, hierarchical aspects and sensitivity of mechanical properties, are thus discussed. This review provides a first reference for the factors that affect damping properties in PFCs to be used in engineering applications in various fields, including automotive parts, aerospace components, and musical instruments. It also highlights the current shortcomings of knowledge on the damping of PFCs. The Ashby diagram presented here, built from data available in the literature, constitutes a first tool for selecting materials considering the compromise between the loss factor and stiffness for engineering design considerations.