Multi-scale analysis and design of sustainable structural composites

用于模块化建筑的耐用、可持续和预制材料是建筑业的未来。在过去十年里，数字化制造工艺的重大进步，再加上人们对水泥和钢铁生产的碳足迹日益担忧，推动了利用天然纤维、木材和竹子等可再生资源制造的可持续复合材料产品的使用。然而，用于结构应用的可持续复合材料的开发、认证和全面测试是昂贵和耗时的。拥有预测性的计算工具，使工程师能够分析复杂载荷下的可持续复合材料结构，将为更绿色的行业带来安全、成本效益和时间效益的设计。拟议研究的目的是为可持续复合材料的创新创建一个多尺度计算模型框架。该计算框架将由集成的多尺度力学模型组成，并使复合材料制造商能够根据大型可持续复合材料的微观结构特征和材料铺层来预测其失效。因此，可以在这一框架内设计和分析利用各种当地资源(如木材和天然纤维)进行认证的新型多层产品。为了验证整个框架的性能，在结构荷载作用下，设计并分析了一系列经过优化的微结构和层数配置的隔热剪力墙。拟议计划的新颖性在于采用了多尺度方法来设计和优化下一代绿色太阳能板的组成。优化的组合将使低成本的电池板能够根据可用的资源有效地抵抗结构、湿度和热负荷。与目前建筑中使用的传统材料相比，这些下一代部件将是可回收的，并具有更低的环境足迹。所提出的多层板在循环结构和热载荷作用下的性能计算方法是独创性的，可以应用于汽车、航空航天、船舶和国防等其他关键行业的部件。该研究计划将通过利用可再生资源开发高性能可持续复合材料产品，加强加拿大在绿色复合材料技术前沿的地位。它将为HQP在应用数字技术进行结构复合材料的设计、分析和测试方面提供一个新颖的、多学科的培训环境。学员将在合作研究环境中学习，强调团队合作、创新和土木、材料和机械工程方面的培训。HQP将使应用先进制造和木材复合材料加工等尖端技术的地区和国家制造业部门受益。

Durable, sustainable, and pre-fabricated materials for modular construction are the future of the building industry. In the past decade, significant advancements in digital manufacturing processes, coupled with growing concerns about the carbon footprint of cement and steel production, have driven the use of sustainable composite products made from renewable resources such as natural fibres, wood and bamboo. However, development, certification and full-scale testing of sustainable composites for structural applications are costly and time-consuming. Having predictive, computational tools that enable engineers to analyze sustainable composite structures under complex loadings will lead to safe, cost-effective, and time-effective designs for a greener industry. The aim of the proposed research is to create a multi-scale computational modelling framework for innovation in sustainable composites. This computational framework will consist of integrated multi-scale mechanistic models and enable composite manufactures to predict the failure of large sustainable composites based on their microstructural features and material lay-ups. Hence, novel multi-layered products utilizing a wide range of local resources (e.g. wood species and natural fibres) can be designed and analyzed for certification within this framework. To demonstrate the capability of the entire framework, a series of insulating shear walls with optimized microstructure and layer configuration will be designed and analyzed under structural loadings. The novelty of the proposed program lies in the multi-scale methodology used to design and optimize the composition of the next generation of greener panels. The optimized composition will allow low-cost panels to effectively resist structural, humidity, and thermal loads based on available resources. These next-generation components will be recyclable and have a lower environmental footprint compared to the conventional materials currently used in buildings. The proposed computational methodology employed to efficiently analyze the performance of multi-layered panels under cyclic structural and thermal loads is original and can be applicable to components in other key industries, such as automotive, aerospace, marine, and defense sectors. The research program will strengthen Canada's position at the forefront of green composite technology through development of high-performance sustainable composite products from renewable resources. It will provide a novel and multidisciplinary training environment for HQP in the application of digital technologies for the design, analysis, and testing of structural composites. Trainees will learn in a collaborative research environment that emphasises teamwork, innovation and training in civil, materials, and mechanical engineering. HQP will benefit both the regional and national manufacturing industry sectors that apply leading-edge technologies such as advanced manufacturing and wood composite processing.