Natural Fibre versus Synthetic Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites: A Review of Mechanical Properties and Applications

Abstract

Today, the fibre-reinforced polymer composites appear virtually anywhere – from cars to buildings, from consumer products to pretty much anything else – simply because they are very lightweight, yet have a massive strength-to-weight ratio, and afford designers freedom of application. This review aims to bring together literature (since 2022 until 2026) related to existing evidence on the performance of natural fibre, synthetic fibre, and natural-synthetic hybrid composites, with a specific emphasis on tensile, flexural and impact performance. The question it also poses that most reviews fail to ask is which of these studies could actually be duplicated by someone who doesn\'t have access to a specialist materials lab? Fibre and matrix selection, surface treatment, hybridisation, and a few emerging applications are covered along the way, and the review closes with a look at low-cost testing alternatives for institutes that don\'t have calibrated impact testers or electron microscopes sitting around.

Introduction

The text reviews natural, synthetic, and hybrid fibre-reinforced polymer composites, with particular emphasis on low-cost materials, simple manufacturing methods, and testing techniques that can be used in ordinary academic laboratories.

• Composite materials consist mainly of a reinforcing phase, such as fibres, embedded in a polymer matrix. Natural-fibre composites are receiving increasing attention because natural fibres are generally cheaper, locally available, and easier to obtain than synthetic fibres.
• Synthetic fibre composites such as glass- and carbon-fibre/epoxy systems can provide excellent mechanical performance. However, advanced modifications, such as adding silica nanoparticles, may require specialised equipment for accurate mixing and dispersion. In contrast, hand lay-up fabrication offers a simpler and more accessible alternative.
• Natural-fibre composites use materials such as hemp, flax, coir, date-palm, jute, wood dust, and Palmyra palm fibres. Many studies demonstrate that these materials can achieve useful tensile, flexural, compression, shear, impact, and wear properties using relatively simple fabrication and testing methods.
• Hybrid composites combine two or more reinforcement types, such as jute/glass, flax/glass, jute/hemp, or rattan/glass. Hybridisation can balance desirable properties—for example, one fibre may provide stiffness while another improves toughness.
• Several studies show that fibre arrangement and chemical treatment can significantly improve composite performance. For example, placing glass fibres on the outer surfaces of jute-glass laminates improved impact strength, while alkaline treatments using KOH or NaOH improved the mechanical properties of some natural-fibre composites.
• Natural-fibre composites are increasingly moving beyond traditional non-structural applications such as packaging and interior components toward semi-structural and lightly structural applications, including gears and automotive components.
• A major theme is the need for accessible testing methods. Advanced equipment such as SEM, calibrated impact testers, and specialised simulation software may not be available in many academic laboratories.
• Low-cost alternatives include:
  • Drop-weight impact testing, using the basic energy relationship E=mgh, for comparative impact assessment.
  • Shore D hardness testing using a portable durometer.
  • Archimedes water-displacement method for estimating density and void content.
  • Conventional tensile and flexural testing using ASTM D3039 and ASTM D790, which are already common in many engineering laboratories.
• Common standards referenced include ASTM D3039 for tensile testing, ASTM D790 for flexural testing, and ASTM D256 for Izod impact testing.
• The literature reveals an important research gap: few studies directly evaluate whether inexpensive laboratory tests can reliably substitute for standardised, calibrated testing methods.
• Another major gap is the limited information on the fatigue, durability, and long-term performance of newer low-cost hybrid systems such as jute-hemp, jute-coir, and rattan-glass composites.

Conclusion

Synthesized fiber composites are still superior in terms of raw mechanical performance, but with the use of cheap natural fibers, such as jute and coir, E-glass, polyester or epoxy fibers, natural fibre composites and hybrid composites are steadily catching up. If the institute lacks specialized fabrication or testing equipment as described in Section 2, then the alternatives presented in Section 6 (drop-weight impact, Shore D hardness, Archimedes density) provide a viable means of gaining useful comparative data with relatively simple equipment and hand tools.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Mr. Vandan P Gaikwad, Dr. Mukund L Harugude, Mr. Nikhil P Ambole. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.