Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis of Polymer Composites Reinforced with Natural Fibers

The preparation of high performance materials using renewable resources is a prime goal in materials science. Composites are amply recognized as an effective route to achieve a new portfolio of advanced materials with high performance. The comprehensive understanding of the structure/properties relationships is crucial to achieve such goal. Therefore, the detailed characterization of the viscoelastic properties of composites is an essential step in h development process. This review describes the use of Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis (DMTA) in the viscoelastic characterization of composites, and a brief description about the utility of the DMTA in the study of their structure/properties relationships is given. The paper is focused on the discussion of the most relevant publications in the area.