Advanced polymer composites

Marosi, G. J. and Czigany, T. 2006. Advanced Polymers, Composites and Technologies. Wiley, Floboken, NJ. Mikitaev, A. and Ligidov, M. 2006. Polymers, Polymer Blends, Polymer Composites, and Filled Polymers. Nova, Commack, NY. 

Composite materials have been acclaimed as the Materials of the Future. A key question is whether composite materials will always remain the materials of the future or if the future is here. Advanced polymer composites, once destined for stealth military aircraft or aerospace uses, are beginning to be used in down-to-earth structures, such as bridges, buildings, and highways. However, there are still considerable impediments to wider use, and composite manufacturers need to make great strides in the development and manufacturing of composite materials. 

The total use of advanced composites is expected to grow to around 250-300 million by 1996. The market sectors for advanced polymer composites are 40% aerospace, 30% recreational, 20% industrial, 4% transport and 6% others in 1987. The fastest growing area is aerospace which, according to actual forecasts, will use up to 65% of the total advanced polymer composites production in 1996. 

Jang. B.Z Advanced Polymer Composites Principles and Applications. ASM Inlemaiiunul. Materials Park. OH. 1993... 

P. Jackson, N. J. Clayden, J. A. Barnes, T. A. Carpenter, L. D. Hall, and P. Jezzard, New analytical techniques for advanced polymer composites, in A. Kwakemaak and L. van Arkel, (Eds.), Proceedings of the 12th International European Chapter Conference of the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering, Maastricht, The Netherlands, May 28—30, 1991, Advanced Materials Cost Effectiveness, Quality Control, Health and Environment, Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1991, pp. 277-288. 

Advanced polymer composites, which are high-performance materials consisting of a polymer matrix resin reinforced with fibers such as carbon, graphite, aramid, boron, or S-glass, have their market in aerospace. This is also expected to be the fastest growing sector of plastics sales, with growth projected at 22% a year. 

Table 1 Some forecasts about Advanced Polymer Composites...

Expectations are still for large markets for new materials in future, and we are in a much better position to know than we were 10 years ago. Hopefully we are wiser about forecasts too. After allowing for inflation, advanced polymer composites markets are today only about one-third what they were projected to be in earlier forecasts. Growth will be slower but, through better understanding of users needs, we can be more confident that the future will turn out closer to forecast. It s going to take time to get there and it will only happen through commitment to the business, with materials which are competitive and meet a real ne. ... 

Hollaway LC, Head PR (2001) Advanced polymer composites and polymers in the civil infia-... 

Abbasi, A. and P. J. Hogg (2004). Fire testing of concrete beams with fibre reinforced plastic rebar. In Advanced Polymer Composites for Structural Applications in Construction, ed. L. C. Hollaway, Cambridge, UK, Woodhead Publishing, pp. 445-456. 

Polyetheretherketones (PEEK) have excellent properties for use in advanced polymer composites, including low flammability, low smoke and toxic gas emission, and broad chemical and solvent resistance. PEEK... 

The presented three step method of inorganic particle preparation, consequent functionalization and finally embedding into a miniemulsion copolymerization system offers an easy way to prepare core shell particles with a wide range of functionalities at the surface. Those products inherit a high potential as reactive filler materials in advanced polymers composites. 

Abstract This chapter will discuss advances in the properties, production and manufacturing techniques of the advanced synthetic fibre/polymer composite materials that are utilised in the manufacture of machines that produce sustainable energy. Furthermore, it will suggest methods for the repair, maintenance and recycling of advanced polymer composite wind turbine blades. 

As with advanced polymer composite, a nanocomposite is formed from the combination of two or more materials however, one of the materials has nanoscale (< 100 nm) dimensions. Nanoparticles can be classified into three categories depending on the number of their nanoscale dimensions (i) nano-spheres (ii) nano-fibres and (iii) nano-plates, having three, two and one nanoscale dimension, respectively, Thostenson et al. (2005). Paul and Robeson (2008) have given a comprehensive review of nanoparticles. Only nano-fibres and nano-plates will be mentioned in this chapter, as these are relevant to possible structures concerned with sustainable energy. 

An area where nanocomposites could achieve a dramatic commercial prominence is in advanced polymer composites. CFRP composites have limited achievable properties, particularly in cross-ply composites, due to the low modulus and strength of the matrix phase. Modification of the matrix with CNT, at the lower scale of dimensions and carbon nano-fibres, at a higher dimensional scale, would allow for significant increase in the modulus and strength contribution of the matrix to the overall composite properties. Whilst this would offer some improvement in UD composites, it could be dramatic in the case of cross-ply composites, which are the major type of composite structure utilised in some advanced composite applications. 

Hollaway, L.C. and Head, P.R. (2001), Advanced Polymer Composites and Polymers in the Civil Infrastructure, fhrblished by Elsevier, Oxford. 

Midtgard U, Knudsen LE (1994) Fibre-reinforced plastics and advanced polymer composites. Occupational hazards and toxicity of selected compounds. Nordic Council of Ministers and National Institute of Occupational Health, Denmark, Copenhagen, pp 1-73... 

Turvey G J and Zhang Y (2004a), Shear failure of web-flange junctions in pultruded GRP profiles. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Advanced Polymer Composites for Structural Applications in Construction (ACIC 2004), Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, UK, pp. 553-560. 

This chapter and Chapter 17 review advanced polymer composites in bridge engineering and cover many aspects for the utilisation of this material within bridge engineering infrastructure. It is suggested that the reader refers to Section 17.6 of Chapter 17 which covers the future trends of fibre-reinforced polymer composites used in all types of bridge engineering. 

Hollaway, L. C. (2009), Advanced polymer composites . Chapters 51 and 52, of Section 7, Sub. Editors, L. C. Hollaway and J. F. Chen in ICE Manual of Construction Materials, ed. M. Forde. Thomas Telford, London. 

Abstract This chapter continues the discussions of the development of advanced polymer composite material applications associated with bridge engineering. It focuses on the rehabilitation of metallic bridge structures, all-FRP composite bridges and bridges built with hybrid systems. Chapter 16 covered the materials used in FRP composites, in-service properties and applications of FRP composites in bridge enclosures, the rehabilitation of reinforced and prestressed concrete bridge beams and columns. 

Hulatt, J., Hollaway, L. C. and Thorne, A. (2003a), The use of advanced polymer composites to form an economic structural unit . International Journal of Construction and Building Materials, Vol. 17, Issue 1, pp. 55-68. 

Leonard, A R. (2002). The design of carbon fibre composite strengthening for cast iron struts at Shadwell Station vent shaft . Proceedings of the International Conference Advanced Polymer Composites for Structural Applications in Construction, eds R. A. Shenoi, S. J. Moy and L. C. Hollaway, University of Southampton, UK, 15-17 April 2002, pp. 219-227. 

Luke, S. and Canning, L. (2004), Strengthening highway and railway bridge structures with FRP composites - case studies , in L. C. Hollaway, M. K. Chryssanthopoulos and S. S. Moy (eds). Advanced Polymer Composites for Structural Applications in... 

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