ESTEEM: Energy efficient and Safe out-of-oven manufacTuring for compositE materials with intEgrated Multifunctionalities
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: School of Engineering & Materials Scienc
Abstract
Advanced composites have been used extensively in high performance lightweight applications ranging from aerospace, automotive to renewable energy sectors, with a global market of composite products over £60bn by 2017 together with a compound annual growth rate of 7% since 2011, and a projected £10bn growth in sales of composites in UK industry by 2030.
However, with the ever increasing demand for zero-impact and sustainable development, the environmental impact of each stage from composite production to their end-of-life options should be considered to take the advantage of this high growth rate in the composite sector. Three important questions remain for the clean growth of the sector: (1) how can we manufacture the composites in an environmentally sustainable way, i.e. reduce the energy consumption for the rapid growing production needs; (2) how to effectively reduce, recycle, and reclaim valuable materials from end-of-life composite wastes; (3) how to truly reveal the lightweight feature of composites and reduce the overdesign in composites while avoiding unexpected catastrophic structural failures.
This project will address all three questions by materials and manufacturing innovation, creating a circular economy for the composite industry by providing an extremely energy efficient and intrinsically safe manufacturing method based on recycled composite wastes as new functional fillers.
With only 1% of energy consumption compared to current manufacturing methods, high performance composites with integrated new functions like deformation and damage sensing as well as de-icing will be manufactured without needs of even an oven. This new method will be tuned to fully comply with the processing requirements of existing high performance composite systems, reducing costs in capital investment, operational, and maintenance aspects. The new functions will also provide real-time health monitoring of components' structural integrity to enable condition based maintenance with high reliability.
This research will be supported by a strong joint force from both academia (WMG, University of Warwick, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US) and UK industry (ELG Carbon fibres Ltd, and LMK Thermosafe Ltd), with leading expertise from polymer and nanocomposite processing, smart composites, to carbon fibre recycling and intrinsically safe heating applications, to ensure a great success of the project and a large impact on relevant research fields, as well as a direct contribution to addressing the UK Grand Challenges of "clean growth" and "future of mobility" and international competitiveness of the UK economy, with world leading development in lightweighting in transportation, manufacturing and efficient use of resources.
However, with the ever increasing demand for zero-impact and sustainable development, the environmental impact of each stage from composite production to their end-of-life options should be considered to take the advantage of this high growth rate in the composite sector. Three important questions remain for the clean growth of the sector: (1) how can we manufacture the composites in an environmentally sustainable way, i.e. reduce the energy consumption for the rapid growing production needs; (2) how to effectively reduce, recycle, and reclaim valuable materials from end-of-life composite wastes; (3) how to truly reveal the lightweight feature of composites and reduce the overdesign in composites while avoiding unexpected catastrophic structural failures.
This project will address all three questions by materials and manufacturing innovation, creating a circular economy for the composite industry by providing an extremely energy efficient and intrinsically safe manufacturing method based on recycled composite wastes as new functional fillers.
With only 1% of energy consumption compared to current manufacturing methods, high performance composites with integrated new functions like deformation and damage sensing as well as de-icing will be manufactured without needs of even an oven. This new method will be tuned to fully comply with the processing requirements of existing high performance composite systems, reducing costs in capital investment, operational, and maintenance aspects. The new functions will also provide real-time health monitoring of components' structural integrity to enable condition based maintenance with high reliability.
This research will be supported by a strong joint force from both academia (WMG, University of Warwick, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US) and UK industry (ELG Carbon fibres Ltd, and LMK Thermosafe Ltd), with leading expertise from polymer and nanocomposite processing, smart composites, to carbon fibre recycling and intrinsically safe heating applications, to ensure a great success of the project and a large impact on relevant research fields, as well as a direct contribution to addressing the UK Grand Challenges of "clean growth" and "future of mobility" and international competitiveness of the UK economy, with world leading development in lightweighting in transportation, manufacturing and efficient use of resources.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Han Zhang (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Liu Y.
(2022)
THE EFFECT OF CONDUCTIVE NETWORK ON POSITIVE TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT BEHAVIOUR FOR MULTIFUNCTIONAL COMPOSITES: FROM FLEXIBLE SENSING TO SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING
in ECCM 2022 - Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Composite Materials: Composites Meet Sustainability
Liu Y.
(2022)
SUSTAINABLE MULTIFUNCTIONAL COMPOSITES: FROM ENERGY EFFICIENT MANUFACTURING TO INTEGRATED SENSING AND DE-ICING CAPABILITIES
in ECCM 2022 - Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Composite Materials: Composites Meet Sustainability
Thorn T
(2023)
Smart and repeatable easy-repairing and self-sensing composites with enhanced mechanical performance for extended components life
in Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing
Thorn T.D.S.
(2022)
EASY-REPAIRING OF HIGH PERFORMANCE FIBRE REINFORCED COMPOSITES WITH MULTIPLE HEALING CYCLES AND INTEGRATED DAMAGE SENSING
in ECCM 2022 - Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Composite Materials: Composites Meet Sustainability
Wang Y
(2023)
Energy efficient out-of-oven manufacturing of natural fibre composites with integrated sensing capabilities and improved water barrier properties
in Composites Science and Technology
Wang Y.
(2022)
ENERGY EFFICIENT OUT-OF-OVEN MANUFACTURING FOR NATURAL FIBRE COMPOSITES WITH INTEGRATED DEFORMATION SENSING
in ECCM 2022 - Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Composite Materials: Composites Meet Sustainability
Yao X
(2023)
Tailored Out-of-Oven Energy Efficient Manufacturing of High-Performance Composites with Two-Stage Self-Regulating Heating via a Double Positive Temperature Coefficient Effect.
in ACS applied materials & interfaces
Yao X.
(2022)
TAILORED OUT-OF-OVEN CURING OF HIGH PERFORMANCE FRPS UTILISING A DOUBLE POSITIVE TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT EFFECT
in ECCM 2022 - Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Composite Materials: Composites Meet Sustainability
| Description | This project has developed highly energy-efficient methods for manufacturing composites, achieving up to a 90% reduction in energy consumption during the curing process without compromising component performance. We can tailor curing profiles to suit various high-performance systems. Additionally, we've introduced new functionalities into natural fibre composites, including the ability to detect damage and degradation. |
| Exploitation Route | Companies involved in manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, and renewable energy sectors could adopt these advanced composites manufacturing methods to reduce energy costs and improve efficiency. The significant reduction in energy consumption during the curing process can lead to more sustainable production practices and lower operational costs. Academic and research institutions might use the findings as a basis for further research, exploring even more efficient manufacturing processes, the development of new composite materials, or enhancing the added functionalities like damage and degradation detection. |
| Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Construction Energy Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology Transport |
| Description | The project on energy-efficient composites manufacturing is beginning to make its mark beyond the academic realm, signaling early-stage impacts that hold promise for broader application. While direct industrial applications are still emerging, the methodologies and findings developed from this project are forming the solid foundation for future sustainability and efficiency improvements in sectors like automotive and aerospace, and renewable energy sector. Early discussions have been initiated with UK industry for both large organisations and SMEs, mainly to explore the use of developed technology to reduce their energy consumption during composites manufacturing. |
| Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Energy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Impact Types | Economic |