Advanced composites: from materials characterization to structural application

Abstract

Modern industry can produce composite materials with a wide range of mechanical properties applicable in the medicine, aviation, and automotive industries, etc. However, the construction industry is responsible for a substantial part of the budgets worldwide and uses vast amounts of materials. Engineering practice has revealed that innovative technologies’ structural application requires new design concepts related to developing materials with mechanical properties tailored to construction purposes. This is the opposite to the current practice, where design solutions are associated with applying existing materials, the physical characteristics of which, in general, are imperfectly suited to the application requirements. The resolution of the above problem should ensure the efficient consumption of engineering materials when the efficiency is understood in a simplified and heuristic manner as the optimization of the performance and the proper combination of structural components. The optimization, based on the materials’ adequate characterization, enables implementing environmentally-friendly engineering principles when the efficient use of advanced materials guarantees the required structural safety. The progress of the research project Industrialised material-oriented engineering for eco-optimised structures, funded by the Research Council of Lithuania, has inspired the emergence of this book, exploring sustainable composites with valorized manufacturability corresponding to the Industrial Revolution 4.0 ideology. Identifying fundamental relationships between the structure of advanced composites and the related physical properties is the focus of the collected articles. Among others, these publications reveal that the application of nano-particles improves the mechanical performance of composite materials; heat-resistant aluminum composites ensure the safety of overhead power transmission lines; chemical additives can detect the impact of temperature on concrete structures. Several publications investigate the connection problems of high-performance composites and expand the application of fiber-reinforced polymer materials to strengthen concrete structures. The Democritus University of Thrace research team achieved remarkable results in developing and analyzing fibrous reinforcements, improving the structural components’ mechanical performance and sustainability. New experimental results of cyclic tests of fiber-reinforced concrete beams with bar reinforcement provide a valuable reference for further analysis and development of advanced cement-based composites. The articles collected in this book demonstrate that the choice of construction materials has considerable room for improvement from a scientific viewpoint, following heuristic approaches.