Developing liquid acrylic resin-based composites for marine renewable energy and ship building applications

Composites have been used for many years in small recreational and high-performance boat industries. Their widespread acceptance in the boat industry is due to their light weight, vibration damping properties, corrosion resistance, high impact strength, design flexibility, low fabrication costs and ease of maintenance and repair. The use of lightweight composite materials in constructing larger marine structures is increasing in recent times. Ther-mosetting composites, the usual candidates for constructing boats, are non-recyclable in nature and their use in larger marine structures is not a justifiable solution. This will add the environmental burden and is not de-sired. These issues are also causing problems for the usage of composites in marine renewable energy structures such as tidal and wind turbine blades.


We need to develop next generation of recyclable, lightweight composite materials that would be a more sustain-able solution for the environment. Newly introduced liquid thermoplastic acrylic resin based composites are a po-tential candidate for such applications. This liquid resin is processed in the same way as the traditional thermoset-ting resins used in boat building and wind turbine blade industries, features high mechanical properties, but is re-cyclable unlike thermosetting composites. This recyclability can provide an answer to the major issue of the treat-ment of end-of-life composites.


The construction of large marine structures with liquid thermoplastic resin based composite materials represents a challenging task. This project will focus on potential development of liquid acrylic resin based composites for ma-rine and ship building and for renewable energy structures. This will involve manufacturing acrylic matrix compo-sites and studying their physical and mechanical properties. This will also involve studying the fibre/matrix interface in dry condition as well as after seawater immersion. There will be investigations on the welding/joining and repair-ing potential of this new composite system. The fire resistance property will be investigated in collaboration with Fire Safety Engineering Laboratory at the University of Edinburgh. Finally, a demonstrator will be manufactured in conjunction with industry.

This outward-facing doctoral training centre will create impact through knowledge enhancement and leadership development which will have significant benefit for society, people and the economy.

Societal Impacts:
A very large increase in renewable energy generation, mainly wind, wave and tidal, is expected in the coming years and decades to meet the UK Government and international obligations to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050 when compared to 1990 levels. In particular, the Offshore Wind Industry Council is proposing, under a Sector Deal, to deliver 30GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 50GW by 2050, whilst reducing the average price of electricity by 18%. The longer term societal and economic impacts arise from the difference that the CDT programme and its graduates make to the UK realising this medium-term and longer-term target. The societal impact of meeting these targets, over failing to meet them, can be calculated in avoided CO2, increased sustainability, security and resilience of the energy system in a safe, affordable and environmentally sensitive manner.

People Pipeline and Skills:
There is a widely recognised skills gap in renewable energy both in UK and Europe. Hence, the proposed CDT is timely contributing significantly to meeting the sector's skills demand by the provision of highly trained engineering leaders, expert in a broad range of wind and marine energy technologies and engineering. Most of the CDT graduates will be expected to take up posts in the growing commercial wind and marine energy sectors, and quickly rise to positions of leadership and influence. Some graduates will remain in the higher-education sector and develop academic careers providing much needed increased capacity and capability resulting in a positive impact through an expanded research-base and capability to deal with the inevitable research challenges of the sector as it develops further commercially.

Students will be mentored and encouraged to take a proactive role in creating impact with their research whilst observing Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). All the Universities participating in this CDT proposal have explicit policies and resources in place to support knowledge exchange and impact and also public engagement. These support the students throughout their studies to engage in broader dialogue and deliberation and to be aware of the potential impacts and implications of their research.

Our CDT students will also engage in outreach activities and impact the wider community through the well-established Professional Engineering Training Scheme (PETS): this scheme is managed and directed by the students and provides opportunities to engage in outreach activities and to work with peers. e.g. PETS runs a schools and colleges programme wherein the students organise visits to schools and colleges to provide information about renewable energy and a basic introduction to the technology involved.

Economic Impact:
The low-carbon and renewable energy sector is estimated to increase five-fold by 2030, potentially bringing two million jobs to the UK. In particular, an ambitious Sector Deal for industry proposed by Government as part of its Clean Growth Strategy could see a total installed capacity of 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 with the potential to create at least 50,000 jobs across the UK. If achieved, this would be a six fold increase from the current installed capacity and would make offshore wind the largest source of domestic electricity. To ensure resilience, it is also important to retain and develop the leading UK Wave and Tidal position. With the direct and indirect value added to the UK supply and installation chain in terms of job creation, intellectual property exploitation, and sales of wind, wave and tidal technology and services, the proposed CDT will make an important contribution through knowledge enhancement and leadership development.