Composites Designed to Dissolve - DESOLVE

DESOLVE项目将开发一种高度创新的可溶性热塑性复合材料产品，该产品具有两个关键优势：* 它通过可溶性帮助产品回收，并可以在使用寿命结束时帮助拆卸和回收有价值的组件或材料。它可以被设计成在某些条件下失效，并将这种失效作为一个有益的特征。我们将制造一种热塑性颗粒，可以通过注塑成型制成复杂的形状。它将由增强纤维和可溶性聚合物的混合物组成，当按设计使用时，这种复合材料具有良好的机械性能，但当暴露于计划的水分来源时，这种复合材料会软化或完全溶解。由可溶性复合材料制成的产品可以在不同的温度下溶解，使我们能够制造出具有卓越可持续性的独特产品。溶解的聚合物可以直接返回到正常的废水系统中，无需处理，并且可以回收整体成型的组件。纤维可以是天然的或矿物的，可以分别用于堆肥或再利用。在这个项目中，我们还将提供一种复合材料，这种复合材料经过独特的设计，可以在某些条件下改变状态，失效或溶解，并将这种失效作为一种有益的特征。复合材料组件通常被设计为以最小的性能退化来承受负载，并且它们做得非常好。然而，这个项目将研究那些可预测地改变状态的产品。这可以比作电保险丝-保险丝的工作是将电力传输到电路中，直到达到某些参数，此时它会以有计划的有用方式失效，以避免危险。DESOLVE项目将与创意设计专家合作，他们将支持识别创新用途和设计要求，以定制产品，用于新的回收和计划的溶解/失效目的。我们设想该产品在工业仓储、土木工程、玩具或家用产品等方面具有广泛的潜力。

The DESOLVE project will develop a highly innovative soluble thermoplastic composite product which has two key advantages:* It aids recycling of products by being soluble and can assist in disassembly and reclamation of valuable components or materials at the end of life.* It can be designed to fail under certain conditions and use this failure as a beneficial feature.We will manufacture a thermoplastic pellet that can be injection moulded to make complex shapes. It will comprise a mixture of a reinforcement fibre and a soluble polymer making a composite of good mechanical properties when used as designed but which will soften or dissolve completely when exposed to a planned moisture source.The benefits for recycling and reclamation are clear. The products made from the soluble composite can be tailored to dissolve at different temperatures, enabling us to make a unique product which has excellent sustainability credentials. The dissolved polymer can be fed directly back into a normal wastewater system with no processing required and components that were integrally moulded can be reclaimed. Fibres can be natural or mineral and can go to composting or re-use respectively.In this project, we will also deliver a composite that is uniquely designed to change state, fail or dissolve under certain conditions and to use this failure as a beneficial feature. Composite components are generally designed to withstand a load with minimal degradation of performance and they do it very well. However, this project will look into products that change state _predictably_. This could be compared to an electrical fuse - the fuse does its job to transmit power through to a circuit until certain parameters are reached, at which point it fails in a planned and useful way to avoid danger.The DESOLVE project will work with creative design experts who will support the identification of innovative uses and design requirements for tailoring of the product for novel recycling and planned dissolution/failure purposes. We envisage the product having wide-ranging potential in industrial storage, civil engineering, toys or domestic goods to name a few.