I/UCRC: Collaborative Research: Durability and Life Cycle Performance of Pultruded and Infused FRPs for Infrastructure

项目主任复合材料集成到基础设施的建议中心(CCI)提案#1230351&amp；1230284 GangaRao&amp；Rizkalla该提案寻求为西弗吉尼亚大学和北卡罗来纳州立大学的复合材料集成到基础设施中心提供资金。基础研究的资金申请是由NSF批准的申请授权的，NSF 11-570。征集邀请研究所/大学合作研究中心提交支持行业定义的基础研究的建议。由热固性树脂和热塑性塑料制成的纤维增强聚合物(FRP)复合材料的应用一直在稳步增长。尽管与传统材料相比，FRP复合材料具有更好的热机械性能，可以提供更长的使用寿命，但对耐久性和生命周期性能缺乏了解是其大批量应用的主要技术障碍。耐久性响应通常是根据化学、物理和机械老化及其组合来确定的。因此，拟议研究的目标是：i)在微观和宏观层面评估导致拉挤和注塑复合材料性能退化的机制；ii)尽量减少制造(拉挤和注塑)以及与缺陷、分层和脱粘相关的耐久性；iii)建立一个统一的模型(S)来预测玻璃钢复合材料的生命周期性能，以便可以绘制出主曲线作为时间、温度和压力的函数(S)。拟议的项目将帮助该中心在进行基础耐久性研究方面走在前列，并为复合材料行业/最终用户的关键问题提供解决方案。结果将创造更好的行业/大学/最终用户互动，从而增加FRP的使用量，并刺激经济增长，此外，还将吸引和帮助吸引有才华的学生参加我们的研究项目。这项工作的成果将通过会议介绍、技术期刊、短期课程和其他方式广泛传播，并将根据业界/最终用户的需要进一步纳入设计、业务守则和学术课程。

Program Director's Recommendation Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructures (CICI) Proposal # 1230351 & 1230284 GangaRao & Rizkalla This proposal seeks funding for the Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructures at West Virginia University and North Carolina State University sites. Funding Requests for Fundamental Research are authorized by an NSF approved solicitation, NSF 11-570. The solicitation invites I/UCRCs to submit proposals for support of industry-defined fundamental research. Applications of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites made of thermosets and thermoplastics have been growing steadily. Even though FRP composites can provide longer-service life because of more beneficial thermo-mechanical performance over conventional materials, lack of understanding of durability and life-cycle performance is a major technical obstacle for their high volume application. The durability response is identified typically in terms of chemical, physical and mechanical aging and their combinations. Therefore, the objectives of the proposed research are to: i) evaluate the mechanisms that lead to the degradation of pultruded and infused composite material properties at micro- and macro-levels, ii) minimize manufacturing (pultrusion vs. infusion) and durability related defects, delaminations, and de-bonding, and to iii) develop a unified model(s) to predict life-cycle performance of FRP composites so that master curves can be developed as a function(s) of time, temperature and pressure. The proposed project will help the center to be in forefront (leader) of conducting fundamental durability research and offer solutions to the issues that are critical for composite industry/end-users. Results will create better industry/university/end-user interaction leading to higher volume use of FRPs, and to spur economic growth, in addition to attracting and help attract talented students to our research program. Results of this work will be widely disseminated through conference presentations, technical journals, short-courses and other means, and will be further Integrated into the design, codes of practice, and academic curricula as desired by the industry/ end-users.