Compressive Behavior and Energy Absorption of Cylindrical Luffa Biomaterials: A Review

The world demand dictates that alternative eco-friendly and sustainable materials are very much coveted that many researchers are drawn to composites materials made of natural fibres and biodegradable materials that are cheap, boast off good mechanical properties and biodegradability. This paper reviews relevant literature which deals with the natural plant known as Luffa cylindrica (LC) or Luffa sponge (LS). An overview is given by numerous research works for commonly used fibre surface treatments for Luffa fibre (LF). Furthermore, this study discusses the compositions and the mechanical properties of Luffa plant, also how water immersion affects compression behavior in addition the remarkable shape memory effects and mechanical recovery features are also common features of Luffa sponge material. A comprehensive understanding behavior of LS as energy absorbing structure under different compression loads that were investigated on it, such as (quasi-static and dynamic load) and the mechanical-properties of the luffa plant. As a result, from an energy-absorbing point of view, the Luffa sponge material is evidenced to display striking stiffness, strength and energy absorption capacities as opposed to the metallic cellular counterparts. In addition, Luffa sponge is an ultra-light cellular material, it also has an environmentally friendly feature, sustainable, renewable, ease of production and low cost.