Review on Fundamental Considerations During Lignocellulosic Fiber Characterization in Light Micromechanical Analysis of Their Composites

Lignocellulose fibers (Cellulosic fibers) are among the major agricultural resources from plant whose potentials are not exploited in some cases and/or underexploited in many cases. If their potentials for industrial application could be exploited, selling the fibers for manufacturing uses would be a win-win situation for both the industries and the farmers, and provide the latter with a much needed source of additional income since composite material reinforced with lignocellulose fibers can be used for diverse application including the production of parts in automotive industry. For this to be successful, it is mandatory to make fiber level characterization. In this process, there are various determinants that affects the characteristics of lignocellulose fiber including agro-ecological zone, plant age from which the fiber is extracted, lignocellulose structure, fiber extraction method and subsequent treatment to enhance properties. This review, therefore, presents the basics of lignocellulose fiber potential and insight into selected deliberation related to fiber level characterization in light of micromechanical analysis for new biocomposite under development. Included in this review, there are considerations to be potted during characterization at fiber level. For fiber diameter measurement and estimation, the following considerations are reported in this paper: measurement method validation, proper cross-section and fiber geometry assumption, lignocellulose structure and internal holes; enough sample consideration, incorporation of analytical method for cross checking. Likewise consideration during estimating fiber density, single fiber tensile strength and stiffness are review and discussed in this review.