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

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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.