Descrizione del progetto
Migliorare la resistenza all’impatto dei polimeri termoplastici rinforzati con fibra di carbonio
I compositi in polimero rinforzato con fibra di carbonio (CFRP, Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Polymer) permettono di progettare strutture leggere con un’impronta di carbonio inferiore rispetto a quelli standard in metallo, rappresentando un mercato altamente redditizio nell’economia dell’UE. Tuttavia lo sfruttamento è limitato a causa di due fattori: I compositi CFRP presentano una scarsa tolleranza ai danni e all’impatto e poco spazio di progettazione a causa dell’assenza di robusti strumenti di progettazione e della limitata capacità di tecnologie produttive vetuste. Il progetto BIOTHECT, finanziato dall’UE, affronterà questi problemi sviluppando strutture innovative bioispirate, personalizzabili e sanabili in polimeri termoplastici rinforzati con fibre di carbonio multi-impatto. Queste saranno caratterizzate da una tolleranza ai danni localmente migliorata senza aumento di peso, minori scarti di produzione e una struttura più leggera. Il progetto risponderà alle esigenze industriali esistenti di riduzione dei costi e sostenibilità.
Obiettivo
Carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composites (CFRPs) constitute a highly profitable market in EU’s economy. Their high stiffness and strength and low density allow engineers to design lightweight structures with a lower carbon footprint than conventional metallic ones. Nonetheless, CFRPs hold two main drawbacks which hinder their exploitation in industry: 1) poor damage and impact tolerance; and 2) limited design space due to the lack of robust design tools and the limited capability of past manufacturing technologies. This 2-year fellowship tackles these drawbacks by developing novel bio-inspired, tailorable and healable multi-impact resistant CFRTP (BIOTHECT) structures. BIOTHECT uses helicoidal layups to minimise fibre breakage during impact and a thermoplastic matrix to enable healing. BIOTHECT structures address current industrial needs for lower maintenance costs, sustainability and weight savings. A novel numerical tool will be developed to understand and design BIOTHECT structures with unique performances. Optimal BIOTHECT structures will be manufactured, tested and analysed through detailed damage analyses to develop the design tool to unprecedented accuracy. The fine-tuned design tool will be translated to industry-friendly packages for direct exploitation. Finally, in the context of the digital industry, the project explores the use of automated manufacturing technologies, 3D printing, to tailor BIOTHECT designs locally in larger conventional structures. This novel design aims at creating macro-components with locally improved damage tolerance without a weight increase, hence leading to lower manufacturing waste and lighter structures. The fellowship will take place at KU Leuven with a 4-month secondment at the Thermoplastic Composites Research Center (NL). Training plan, technical work packages, exploitation, dissemination and communication activities will work together to lead the ER to cover a leading role in his own research group in or out of academia.
Campo scientifico
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
3000 Leuven
Belgio