Commercial self-reinforced composites: A comparative study

Self-reinforced composites (SRCs) offer a high toughness, low cost, good recyclability, formability, and potential for hybridisation. Because matrix and fibres are of the same material, SRCs have a perfectly compatible fibre-matrix bond. Several commercial SRCs are available, but no direct comparison of these materials can be found in the literature. In this study, we therefore compared the thermal, tensile, flexural and impact of four self-reinforced polypropylene (SRPP) materials (known under the brand names Curv, PURE, Torodon and Terralys) and one self-reinforced polyethylene terephthalate material (SRPET from Comfil). PURE had the highest tensile stiffness and strength, Torodon the highest impact resistance and SRPET the highest bending strength. However, none of these materials outperformed the rest on all the tested properties, implying that the best self-reinforced composite depends on the targeted application. This paper can be used as a tool for initial screening of the commercial self-reinforced composites for a given application.