High Performance Ductile Composite Structures for enhanced safety and damage tolerance

该项目的主要目的是通过实现新一代高性能复合材料结构来实现范式转变，这些结构克服了传统复合材料的关键限制：它们固有的缺乏延展性。我们将设计，制造和评估复合材料系统的韧性或伪韧性的反应，同时保持强度和刚度。屈服和恢复、缺口不敏感、表现出更大的断裂功以及以良性方式失效的能力将提供损伤容限的阶跃变化，大大增加应用范围并实现新的加工技术。这些材料将提供更高的可靠性和安全性，同时减少设计和维护要求，并延长使用寿命。该项目旨在构建几个复合材料部件的示例，逐渐良性失败，将先进复合材料从相对小众的高性能应用转变为在汽车和体育用品等更广泛领域的开发。纤维混杂将是该项目中使用的主要手段之一，以阻止损伤局部化并获得更高的断裂韧性和损伤容限。监督团队与几个相关行业有很好的联系，可以利用该项目取得的成果。这将可能导致进一步的积极的工业参与，可能带来进一步的研究或咨询机会。

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.