Sustainable Approaches for a New Generation of Green Composites in Load-Bearing Applications.

该博士学位的重点是探索绿色复合材料在不同工业领域的结构应用的潜力。目前的复合材料解决方案虽然在特定性能方面非常有效，但在结构应用中仍然存在一些重要的弱点，传统材料通常过于脆弱，并且具有危险的高环境影响以及缺乏适当的回收策略的特点。该博士将专注于克服这些限制的几种策略，从使用天然纤维和更可持续的基质材料到开发可以超越/匹配传统合成材料性能的复合材料，而不会对环境产生负面影响。事实上，目前合成纤维和树脂占垃圾填埋场总空间的10%以上，因此，用更环保的替代品取代它们将符合可持续经济的概念，减少整个产品周期的碳足迹。在这个博士学位期间，学生将参与由机械工程和卫生部门的学者监督的实验和计算工作，以学习如何设计，制造和开发新的复合材料解决方案。

This PhD is focused on exploring the potentiality of Green Composites for structural applications in different industrial sectors. Current composite solutions although very effective in terms of specific properties still present some important weaknesses for structural applications, with traditional materials being often too brittle and characterised by a dangerously high environmental impact and by the lack of a proper recycling strategy. This PhD will focus on several strategies to overcome these limitations, ranging from the use of Natural Fibres and more sustainable matrix materials to develop composites that can outperform/match the performance of traditional synthetic materials without the negative effect on the environment. Indeed, currently synthetic fibres and resins accounts more than 10% of the total landfill space, therefore their replacement with greener alternatives will fit in the concept of sustainable economy, reducing the carbon footprint during the entire cradle-to-grave product cycle. During this PhD the student will engage with both experimental and computational work supervised by academics from the Mechanical Engineering and Health Departments in order to learn how to design, manufacture and characterise new composite solutions.