SBIR Phase I: Characterization of a novel macro-composite material with application to impact-recovery structures

小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将研究为新型宏观复合材料结构的弹性性能和强度建立可靠值的可行性，并研究这种材料在冲击恢复结构中的应用。拟议的研究计划将有三个主要组成部分：机械性能，设计方程和制造技术。经典的微观力学和有限元分析为基础的方法将获得的弹性模量，这将与实验测量的试样值进行比较。强度和失效模式也将从试样测试中获得，并将评估应变不变失效理论对宏观复合材料的适用性。一个基于力学的程序，然后将建立从宏观复合材料构造的圆柱形管的设计。这些管必须椭圆形，并逐渐崩溃时，受到弯曲的时刻，但恢复无损的原始配置后，删除负载。将评估几种低成本的制造工艺，包括纸浆和extrusion.The应用程序的宏观复合材料结构的管状结构已被证明，导致一个显着的结构冲击恢复能力。这种材料和结构技术的主要商业应用已经确定。通过使用宏观复合材料来减少车辆撞击和环境退化对路边结构造成的大量损坏，每年的维护资金将被释放出来，用于更紧迫的公共基础设施维修和修复需求。

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of establishing reliable values for the elastic properties and strength of a novel macro-composite material construction, as well as investigate the application of this material to impact-recovery structures. The proposed research program will have three major components: mechanical properties, design equations, and manufacturing technology. Both classical micromechanics and a finite element analysis-based method will be employed to obtain the elastic moduli, which will be compared with experimentally-measured coupon values. Strength and failure modes will also be obtained from coupon tests, and the applicability of the strain invariant failure theory to the macro-composite will be evaluated. A mechanics-based procedure will then be established for the design of cylindrical tubes constructed from the macro-composite. These tubes must ovalize and gradually collapse when subjected to bending moments, yet return undamaged to the original configuration upon removal of loads. Several low-cost manufacturing processes for the tubes will be evaluated, including pultrusion and extrusion.The application of the macro-composite material construction to tubular structures has been demonstrated to result in a significant structural-impact recovery capability. A major commercial application for this material and structural technology has been identified. By using the macro-composite material to reduce the large amounts of damage to roadside structures caused by both vehicle impacts and environmental degradation, annual maintenance dollars will be freed up for more urgent public infrastructure repair and rehabilitation needs.