Multi-scale analysis and design of sustainable structural composites

耐用、可持续和预制的模块化建筑材料是建筑行业的未来。在过去的十年中，数字制造工艺的重大进步，加上对水泥和钢铁生产碳足迹的日益关注，推动了使用由天然纤维、木材和竹子等可再生资源制成的可持续复合材料产品。然而，可持续结构复合材料的开发、认证和全面测试既昂贵又耗时。具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，这将为绿色工业带来安全、经济、高效的设计。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建模框架。该计算框架将由集成的多尺度力学模型组成，使复合材料制造商能够根据其微观结构特征和材料铺层来预测大型可持续复合材料的失效。因此，利用广泛的当地资源（例如木材品种和天然纤维）的新型多层产品可以在此框架内设计和分析以获得认证。为了证明整个框架的能力，将设计和分析一系列具有优化结构和层构型的隔热剪力墙在结构荷载下的性能。该方案的新颖之处在于用于设计和优化下一代绿色面板组成的多尺度方法。优化的成分将允许低成本的面板有效地抵抗结构、湿度和基于可用资源的热负荷。与目前建筑中使用的传统材料相比，这些下一代组件将是可回收的，对环境的影响更小。所提出的计算方法用于有效地分析多层板在循环结构和热载荷下的性能，是原创的，可以适用于其他关键行业的部件，如汽车，航空航天，船舶和国防部门。该研究项目将通过开发利用可再生资源的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在结构复合材料的设计、分析和测试中应用数字技术提供一个新颖的多学科培训环境。学员将在一个强调团队合作、创新和土木、材料和机械工程培训的合作研究环境中学习。HQP将使应用先进制造和木材复合加工等前沿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.