Large-Scale Composite Structures – Challenges and Opportunities

A special issue of Journal of Composites Science (ISSN 2504-477X). This special issue belongs to the section "Composites Manufacturing and Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2022) | Viewed by 9165

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Engineering Product Development Pillar, Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), Singapore 487372, Singapore
Interests: materials selection; natural materials; design education; design theory and methodology; ideation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Associate Professor, Architecture and Sustainable Design Pillar, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
Interests: digital design methodologies; advanced manufacturing techniques; lightweight structures and material optimization; design workflows for circular economy; design for manufacturing and assembly
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Composite materials are a continuous and omnipresent feature of the present and are expected to expand for the future. They show massive advantages in weight and strength/stiffness compared to other, more conventional materials. Nevertheless, other aspects such as cost, sustainability, maintainability, and eco-impact are still areas in which improvements are sought. Furthermore, large (1 to 10 meters) and very large (beyond 10 meters) scale structures, which are erected typically using more traditional materials (except perhaps for aeronautics/aerospace and maritime applications), could benefit from the usual advantages of composites. Design methods derived from established procedures for simpler materials have now considerably evolved, and new, improved manufacturing processes are continuously seeing the light of day.

The larger the structure, the more critical some aspects become, such as environmental sustainability, life-cycle cost, life-cycle engineering and life-cycle assessment, incorporation of natural materials, weight reduction as a significant driver of energy-saving, hybrid manufacturing processes, etc.

This Special Issue aims to look at composites beyond today, both in terms of applications and manufacturing processes. What recent advances will enable a fresh look at the design, manufacturing, and maintenance of large and geometrically complex composite structures? What manufacturing processes can be enhanced to cater for these new structures? What new components can be incorporated into composites to enhance specific behavioral (structural, cost, maintenance, eco-impact, etc.) aspects? How can we redefine how composites are designed, used, disposed of, or potentially reused in large structures? Can we manufacture for design instead of designing for manufacture? The analysis of these extensive and ill-defined problems can no longer focus on specific issues: It has to tackle a web of influences ranging from design to production, from supply chain to end-of-life, from consumer preference to market trends public awareness to public policy, etc.

Manuscripts submitted to this Special Issue should tackle the specific and/or the broad, the technical and/or the social, the environmental and/or the financial sustainability. Especially welcome are manuscripts which bridge these fields to produce a web of knowledge that may inform the scientific and the industrial community on ways to move forward and exploit the advantages of composite materials while mitigating their drawbacks for large structures.

Dr. Arlindo Silva
Carlos Bañon
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • large-scale manufacturing
  • composite structures
  • design for manufacturability
  • sustainable technologies and processes
  • design methodologies
  • renewable materials

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2626 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Structural Performance and Environmental Impact of Epoxy Composites Modified by Glass and Flax Fabrics
by Georgios Koronis, Arlindo Silva and Michael Ong
J. Compos. Sci. 2022, 6(10), 284; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs6100284 - 27 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2489
Abstract
Comparing the structural performance and environmental impact of parts made of natural and synthetic fibers has become increasingly important for industry and education, as the benefits of one type of fiber over another are not always clear. The current work discusses the advantages [...] Read more.
Comparing the structural performance and environmental impact of parts made of natural and synthetic fibers has become increasingly important for industry and education, as the benefits of one type of fiber over another are not always clear. The current work discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using natural and synthetic fibers and compares the flexural performance of parts made of each of these fibers and their environmental impact. This paper investigates the flexural behavior of epoxy composites modified by glass and flax fabrics through experimental, numerical, and analytical studies. Specimens with various fabrics (dried and non-dried) were fabricated to test their performance. The failure of unidirectional glass and flax fiber reinforced polymer composite laminate was examined by destructive testing. A finite-element model was developed, and the mechanical behaviors of fiber-reinforced composites were predicted in a three-point bending test. Experimental results were compared to numerical analysis to validate the model’s accuracy. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was employed to determine the climate impact of composite production. The analysis revealed a decreased environmental effect of plant-based panels suggesting that they are less energy and CO2 intensive than synthetic solutions. The LCA model can be applied in further studies of products that consist of or use flax-based composites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Large-Scale Composite Structures – Challenges and Opportunities)
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12 pages, 3262 KiB  
Article
Load-Bearing Capacities and Pseudo-Ductility of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced New Zealand Pine Timber Beams
by Doreen Steven Mlote and Michael Budig
J. Compos. Sci. 2022, 6(8), 239; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs6080239 - 15 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2455
Abstract
Building construction contributes a significant portion to the global consumption of energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and decarbonization has become one of the main targets. This has turned much attention to renewable materials, particularly timber construction. Wood is a natural composite, and [...] Read more.
Building construction contributes a significant portion to the global consumption of energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and decarbonization has become one of the main targets. This has turned much attention to renewable materials, particularly timber construction. Wood is a natural composite, and it causes challenges in its natural state due to its mechanical properties and functionality, which has constrained its use in construction. Laminating wood sections into glue-laminated (glulam) and cross-laminated timber (CLT) components overcomes limitations in dimensions and inconsistencies in its properties. We went beyond these technologies and explored the potential of combining timber of the radiata pine species with synthetic fibers, aiming for hybrid natural–synthetic composite beams. This research illustrated various reinforcement mechanisms and analyzed their structural properties. The results from the experiments showed that carbon fiber-reinforced timber composites have up to 49% additional increase in load-bearing capacity compared to unreinforced beams. An identical amount of strain required less stress, and the composite portrayed a metal-like ductility property, a characteristic referred to as pseudo-ductility. It reduces the material consumption in beams through a more efficient use of materials, particularly around compression areas before tensile rupture. The resulting composites are sustainable yet structurally capable, contributing to the reduction in CO2 emissions in timber construction systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Large-Scale Composite Structures – Challenges and Opportunities)
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13 pages, 2933 KiB  
Article
Error Analysis of Non-Destructive Ultrasonic Testing of Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Hull Plates
by Zhiqiang Han, Jaewon Jang, Sang-Gyu Lee, Dongkun Lee and Daekyun Oh
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(9), 238; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs5090238 - 7 Sep 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2913
Abstract
Glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) ship structures are generally fabricated by hand lay-up; thus, the environmental factors and worker proficiency influence the fabrication process and presence of error in the non-destructive evaluation results. In this study, the ultrasonic testing of GFRP hull plate prototypes [...] Read more.
Glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) ship structures are generally fabricated by hand lay-up; thus, the environmental factors and worker proficiency influence the fabrication process and presence of error in the non-destructive evaluation results. In this study, the ultrasonic testing of GFRP hull plate prototypes was conducted to investigate the statistical significance of the influences of the design parameters, e.g., the glass fiber weight fraction (Gc) and thickness variations, on the measurement error. The GFRP hull plate prototypes were fitted with E-glass fiber chopped strand mats (40 wt % content) with different thicknesses (7.72 mm, 14.63 mm, and 18.24 mm). The errors in the thickness measurements were investigated by conducting pulse-echo ultrasonic A-scan. The thickness variation resulted in increased error. Furthermore, hull plate burn-off tests were conducted to investigate the fabrication qualities. Defects such as voids did not have a significant influence on the results. The statistical analysis of the measurement errors confirmed that the thickness variations resulted in a strong ultrasonic interference between the hull plates, although the hull plates had similar specific gravity values. Therefore, the ultrasonic interference of the layer group interface should be considered to decrease the GFRP hull NDE errors with respect to an increase in the thickness and Gc. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Large-Scale Composite Structures – Challenges and Opportunities)
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