| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/J22740/01 |
| Title: |
APPLICATION OF FRACTURE MECHANICS TO THE FAILURE OF ENGINEERING ADHESIVES AND COMPOSITES |
| Principal Investigator: |
Kinloch, Professor A |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Organisation: |
Imperial College London |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 February 1993 |
Ends: |
31 January 1997 |
Value (£): |
405,128
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Materials Characterisation |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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A wide range of industries are increasingly employing engineering adhesives and fibre-polymer composites in demanding structural applications. These applications frequently require the materials to operate satisfactorily under high strain-rates. We consider the fracture mechanics has a key role to play in understanding, designing and predicting the behaviour of such materials and structures. Our previous work has shown that the toughness of the fibre-composites is not significantly affected by test rates up to about 5 m/s but that rubber-toughened adhesives may show a large decrease in toughness at these high rates. We will therefore consider: whether the loss of toughness is a general observation with this class of materials; the influence of microstructure; whether we can predict the toughness at high rates. We will also model the dynamic response of the test specimens using both analytical and numerical methods. We have started to model the effect of 'damage' structures and we will complete this theoretical modelling for the composite structure and then extend it to an adhesively-bonded structure. An important aspect is to ensure that the above results are employed by the various committees which are drafting 'Standards' and, apart from the usual academic publications, we will ensure that this part of the work has a wide industrial circulation.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.imperial.ac.uk |