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    Welcome to the 2021 edition of the Polymer Blends and Composites course!

    This year, again, due to the ongoing  Covid-19 pandemic all lectures and other meetings will be held online. I very much hope that despite this, you will find the course to be interesting and to provide you with a solid foundation for further studies and research into this interesting class of materials! 


    Photoelastic image of microstructural damage in a composite

    Background

    To underpin the development of new fibre reinforced materials an excellent understanding of composite materials is essential. The science and technology of composites continues to develop with notable advances in the areas of transportation and aerospace. Much can be learnt from these sectors and applied to composite reinforced with other fibre types, such as natural bio-based fibres and their derivatives. This course provides a grounding for further study

    We will principally consider “micro-scale” reinforcement: this is not a course about nanotechnology, though we will discuss the utilisation of nanoscale reinforcement and fillers. Further, we will generally consider composites as “engineering materials” and so the main emphasis will be on mechanical properties and the factors that govern these. In particular strategies that might enable us to improve the performance of low environmental impact composites. However, this is not a course devoted to ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ composites either, though great emphasis will be placed on bio-based reinforcements: wood and non-wood fibre, regenerated cellulose, micro-fibrillated cellulose and cellulose nanocrystals.

    Schedule:

    Date

    Time

    Topic

    Content

    Teacher(s)

    13.9

    13:15-15:00

    Introduction

    Course intro and administrative matters (15-20 mins). Introduction to polymers/composites; material property envelope; fibres; matrices; interface; manufacturing; applications

    Mark Hughes

    Jon Trifol Guzman

    20.9

    13:15-15:00

    Fibre ‘architecture’ 

    Reinforcement geometry and scale; fibre volume fraction and voids; packing arrangement; orientation of reinforcement

    Mark Hughes

    27.9

    13:15-15:00

    Interfacial effects

    Enhancing the compatibility between fibre and matrix interface; measuring interfacial properties

    Jon Trifol Guzman

    28.9

    12:15-14:00

    Reinforcement processes

    Load sharing; elastic stress transfer (Cox shear-lag theory); stress transfer by slip; effect of aspect ratio; deformation in long fibre composites (axial and transverse)

    Mark Hughes

    4.10

    13:15-15:00

    Elastic deformation of laminates

    Axial and transverse stiffness of unidirectional laminae; off-axis loading and interaction effects; multi-ply laminates

    Mark Hughes

    11.10

    13:15-15:00

    Strength and failure

    Inelastic processes; predicting the strength of composites; toughness

    Mark Hughes

    18.10

    13:15-15:00

    Manufacturing

    Manufacturing methods for thermoset and thermoplastic matrix composites

    Jon Trifol Guzman