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Natural fiber composites exhibit low specific weight, are biodegradable and are easily available and supplied by nature. Due to growing concerns of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions arising from synthetic materials, these days polymers are being reinforced with natural fillers so as to produce materials which can be used in automotive, building and civil engineering applications. In this work, Ugandan bark cloth, a natural nonwoven fabric usually obtained from three species of trees: Ficusnatalensis, Ficusbrachypoda and Antiaristoxicaria was used for composite processing by Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) using four plies for each species. For bark cloth to find applications in building and civil engineering applications, its thermal insulation properties have to be characterized. In this present work for the first time, we present the thermal conductivity of bark cloth reinforced epoxy composites from three species. The obtained results show that Ficus b. had the highest thermal conductivity followed by Ficus n. and lastly Antiaris with values 0.224W/mK; 0.206W/mK and 0.182 W/mk respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study that used carbon nanoparticles made by grinding of recycled carbon fibers to modify phenolic precursor to carbon matrix. Other topics mentioned include some of the requirements of carbon fiber reinforced carbon composites, agglomerates of pulverized carbon fibers, and examination of the most dangerous delamination cracks and large cavities using optical scanning system.