Key Engineering Materials

12.4KShares

166.1KViews

When was the last time you looked into increasing the properties of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials? To enhance their structure, carbon particles such as graphite, graphene, soot, and carbon nanotubes have been employed. The latter are particularly promising due to their strong electrical conductivity, outstanding mechanical properties, low density, and high form coefficient.

Is it possible to make such changes in a way that is both beneficial and safe? There are numerous approaches to achieving these, but none of them are flawless. Several issues arise, including limited efficiency, high manufacturing costs, increased viscosity of the polymer matrix, and even health risks.

There Is Room For Creativity

As a result, thermoplastic acrylic resin and its capacity for modification are gaining popularity. The resin has a lower viscosity and density than commonly used epoxy and polyester resins. It avoids a variety of undesirable process impacts while remaining unexplored. This allows for new ideas to flourish.

"Most current research focuses on evaluating the mechanical properties of acrylic resin-based composites and finding the mode of destruction, as well as optimizing the infusion process," adds mgr in. Dydek, Kamil.

COPYRIGHT_WKEM: Published on https://wkem.org/a-novel-composite-material/ by - on 2022-06-07T07:48:58.447Z

The structure of polymer composite materials can also be changed by using conductive, thermoplastic non-woven materials enhanced with carbon nanotubes to lower the composite material's resistivity and increase its mechanical strength.

A More Suitable Material

What exactly does that imply? Our researcher from the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering is leading a team to produce a composite material that is lighter, more durable, and conductive. Because it will be made via infusion, it will be simple to generate huge, high-quality elements. Recyclability, which is now a difficulty with all regularly used composite materials with duroplastic matrices, will be an added benefit.

"This offers up a lot of opportunities for the novel material to be used in the ever-growing energy sector like wind turbine blades, as well as in the fabrication of aircraft equipment or fuselage skin for the aviation industry," explains mgr in. Dydek, Kamil.

The project's end product will be a demonstrator, which will subsequently be put through application tests to determine the solution's commercial viability. Who knows if it works? Maybe in a few years, everything will be made of the WUT-developed revolutionary composite material.

What Are The Applications Of Composite Materials?

A composite material (also known as a composition material or composite, which is the popular word) is one that is made up of two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have markedly different chemical or physical properties, and when combined, they form a material having features that are not found in the individual constituents. Individual constituents stay separate and distinct inside the finished construction, distinguishing composites from mixes and solid solutions.

Why Composite Materials Are Important In Technical Applications?

Composite materials are made up of two or more components with quite diverse characteristics. The multiple components work together to give the composite its unique features, yet you can recognize them differently within the composite since they don't dissolve or blend together.

Composites can be found in nature. Long strands of cellulose (a very sophisticated form of starch) are kept together by a considerably weaker component called lignin in a piece of wood. Cotton and linen include cellulose, but it is the lignin's binding strength that makes a piece of wood far more durable than a bundle of cotton fibres.

What are the benefits of using composites? The main benefit of composite materials is the combination of strength and rigidity with lightweight. Manufacturers can generate qualities that precisely match the needs for a specific construction for a specific purpose by selecting the right combination of reinforcement and matrix material.