Polyester-Based Biocomposites

Polyester-Based Biocomposites highlights the performance of polyester-based biocomposites reinforced with various natural fibres extracted from leaf, stem, fruit bunch, grass and wood material. It also addresses the characteristics of polyester-based biocomposites reinforced with rice husk fillers and various nanoparticles.

This book explores the widespread applications of fibre-reinforced polymer composites in the aerospace sector, automotive parts, construction and building materials, sports equipment and household appliances. Investigating the advantages of natural fibres, such as superior damping characteristics, low density, biodegradability, abundant availability at low cost and non-abrasive to tooling, this book discusses what makes them a cost-effective alternative reinforcement material for composites in certain applications.

This book serves as a useful reference for researchers, graduate students and engineers in the field of polymer composites.

Dr. Senthilkumar Krishnasamy is a Research Scientist at the Center of Innovation in Design and Engineering for Manufacturing (CoI-DEM), King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Thailand. Dr. Senthilkumar Krishnasamy graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Anna University, Chennai, India, in 2005. He then chose to continue his master’s studies and was graduated with a Master’s degree in CAD/CAM from Anna University, Tirunelveli, in 2009. He has obtained his Ph.D. from the Department of Mechanical Engineering- Kalasalingam University (2016). He had been working in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education (KARE), India, from 2010 (January) to 2018 (October). He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia and King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB) under the research topics of “Experimental investigations on mechanical, morphological, thermal and structural properties of kenaf fibre/mat epoxy composites” and “Sisal composites and Fabrication of Eco-friendly hybrid green composites on tribological properties in a medium-scale application,” respectively. His area of research interests includes the modification and treatment of natural fibers, nanocomposites, 3D printing, and hybrid-reinforced polymer composites. He has published research papers in international journals, book chapters and conferences in the field of natural fibre composites.

Dr. Chandrasekar Muthukumar is an Assistant Professor in the School of Aeronautical Sciences, Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science, Chennai, India. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore, India. His Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering was from Nanyang Technological University-TUM ASIA, Singapore. He received his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Malaysia. His PhD was funded through the research grant from the Ministry of Education, Malaysia. During his association with the UPM, he has obtained internal research fund from the University worth 16,000 MYR and 20,000 MYR respectively. He has 5 years of teaching and academic research experience. His field of expertise includes Fibre Metal Laminate (FML), natural fibres, bio-composites, aging and their characterization. His publications are based on the fabrication and characterization techniques of Biocomposites, Aging studies in Biocomposites and Creep analysis of Biocomposites. He has authored and co-authored 32 research articles in SCI Journals, 24 book chapters and 5 articles in the conference proceedings. He is a peer reviewer for Journal of Composite Materials, Polymer Composites, Materials Research Express and Journal of Natural fibres.

Dr. Senthil Muthu Kumar Thiagamani is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education (KARE), Tamil Nadu, India. He received his Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the Directorate of Technical Education, Tamil Nadu in the year 2004, obtained his Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Anna University Chennai in 2007 and Master of Technology in Automotive Engineering from Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore in 2009. He received his Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (specialized in Biocomposites) from KARE in 2018. He also completed his Postdoctoral Research from the Materials and Production Engineering Department at The Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), KMUTNB, Thailand. He started his academic career as Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering at KARE in 2010. He has 11 years of teaching and research experience. He is also a visiting researcher at KMUTNB, Thailand. He is a member of international societies such as the Society of Automotive Engineers and the International Association of Advanced Materials. His research interests include biodegradable polymer composites and characterization. He has authored several articles in peer-reviewed international journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings. He has also published edited books in the field of biocomposites. He is also serving as reviewer for various journals and some of them to mention are Journal of Industrial Textiles, Journal of Polymers and the Environment, SN Applied Sciences, Mechanics of Composite Materials, International Journal of Polymer Science etc.

Prof. Suchart Siengchin is President of King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), Thailand. He received his Dipl.-Ing. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Applied Sciences Giessen/Friedberg, Hessen, Germany in 1999, M.Sc. in Polymer Technology from University of Applied Sciences Aalen, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany in 2002, M.Sc. in Material Science at the Erlangen-Nürnberg University, Bayern, Germany in 2004, Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering (Dr.-Ing.) from Institute for Composite Materials, University of Kaiserslautern, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany in 2008 and Postdoctoral Research from Kaiserslautern University and School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, USA. In 2016 he received the habilitation at the Chemnitz University in Sachen, Germany. He worked as a Lecturer for the Production and Material Engineering Department at The Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), KMUTNB. He has been a full Professor at KMUTNB and became the President of KMUTNB. He won the Outstanding Researcher Award in 2010, 2012 and 2013 at KMUTNB. His research interests in Polymer Processing and Composite Material. He is Editor-in-Chief: KMUTNB International Journal of Applied Science and Technology and the author of more than 150 peer-reviewed Journal Articles. He has participated with presentations in more than 39 International and National Conferences with respect to Materials Science and Engineering topics.