Harnessing Architected Nonwoven Materials to Design and Develop Lightweight Composites

Project description

Ideally, structural materials should exhibit low weight, high strength, and high toughness characteristics. One of the ways to achieve such characteristics is by engineering open structures within the bulk of the material. In fibre reinforced composites, where the fibre is typically brittle, it is very challenging to create a porous microstructure, without sacrificing the toughness and strength of the resulting material. Overcoming these challenges would offer engineered composites with a density much lower than the combined densities of the constituents catering a wide range of industrial applications, including road transport, aerospace or renewable energy, to name a few.

A promising avenue to achieve porous microstructure without sacrificing mechanical properties can be attained via the conventional needlepunching nonwoven approach. The three-dimensional (3D) architecture of needlepunched nonwovens offers universal and adaptable properties to realise technical and economic benefits. Accordingly, the portfolio of nonwoven structural characteristics is required to be tailored to fulfill the demands of a new class of low-density porous composite structures. Therefore, the main aim of the research work is to develop a toolbox of 3D analytical and numerical models of mechanical properties of nonwoven composites based upon the combination of process parameters (punch density, depth of needle penetration, the direction of needling, barb shape, and dimensions, design of the needle board), fibre properties (length, diameter, stiffness), and structural characteristics (porosity, fibre orientation distribution, pore size) of nonwoven materials. Some of the key input fibre and structural parameters will be obtained using X-ray micro-computed tomography (microCT) analysis. The in-situ X-ray microCT will also be performed to analyze the deformation behavior and structural reorganization under defined loading conditions. Guided by the developed analytical and numerical models, a range of composites will be designed and developed for a wide range of applications.

Outcomes

The major deliverable of this project is to develop a toolbox of three-dimensional (3D) analytical and numerical models of mechanical properties of needlepunched nonwoven materials and their composites. The proposed work will enable the rational design of nonwoven materials and their composites based upon the most important fiber and structural parameters. This work is anticipated to open a host of opportunities for practical applications of these multifunctional materials. The research program output will be beneficial to the nonwoven and composite-related industries. It is anticipated that the project will achieve the following outcomes and benefits:

• Enable targeted custom design nonwoven composites to meet lightweight needs in automotive, aerospace, and other technical-related engineering fields.
• The outcomes of this research work can be extended to other soft and hard materials. For example, the understanding of interconnected networks of filamentous proteins in collagen or even electrospun materials can be deeply investigated via analytical models when suitably modified.
• The models developed in the proposed research fill a critical gap of current knowledge of micromechanics of nonwoven materials and their composites.
• Proposed research work will help to achieve innovative and economic materials by enabling a ‘right-first-time’ approach.
• This research work will make scientific contributions to the relations between the anisotropic characteristics of nonwoven materials and their mechanical properties.

Essential capabilities

The student should have a good understanding of physical and mechanical properties of nonwoven materials. He/she should be able to develop the analytical /numerical models of nonwoven materials and related composites.

Desireable capabilities

The student be able to demonstrate the programming skills in Matlab/Python or in any other programming language. He/she should be highly motivated in research activities.

Expected qualifications (Course/Degrees etc.)

B.Tech and/or M.Tech in Textile Engineering/technology, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering.