High Performance Ductile Composite Structures for enhanced safety and damage tolerance

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The main aim of this project is to create a paradigm shift by realising a new generation of high-performance composite structures that overcome the key limitation of conventional composites: their inherent lack of ductility. We will design, manufacture and evaluate composite systems with a ductile or pseudo-ductile response, while maintaining strength and stiffness. The ability to yield and recover, be notch insensitive, exhibit much greater work of fracture, and fail in a benign manner will offer a step change in damage tolerance, vastly increasing the scope of application and enabling new processing techniques. Such materials will provide greater reliability and safety, together with reduced design and maintenance requirements, and longer service life. The project aims to build several examples of composite components with a gradual benign failure to transform advanced composites from relatively niche high-performance applications, to exploitation in wider fields such as automotive and sport-goods. Fibre hybridisation will be one of the main means used in the project to stop localisation of damage and obtain higher fracture toughness and damage tolerance. The supervisory team has a great connection with several relevant industries that could exploit the results achieved in this project. This will potentially lead to further positive industrial engagement that could bring further research or consultancy opportunities.