• Blanchard, Jeanne
• Blake, James I. R.
• Sobey, Adam

Abstract

Composite materials are widely used for structural applications in the marine sector. Whilst they have many benefits, these materials can have an adverse environmental impact with high carbon production costs and poor recyclability. It is therefore important to investigate potential alternatives, such as composites reinforced with natural fibres. Whilst a number of reinforcements show promise, with comparable specific properties to conventional fibres, there are limited examples of these materials in structural applications, at least in part due to a perceived low reliability at the laminate level due to the inconsistencies at the fibre level. A reliability assessment of natural composite materials was therefore performed to compare the applicability of these materials, in structural applications, to conventional fibre reinforced composites. This was done by determining the probability of failure for three equivalent structures made from conventional and natural fibre reinforced composites. The analysis is performed using Monte-Carlo simulations to determine the structural integrity and serviceability of a composite grillage under out-of-plane loading. The sensitivity of the structure’s reliability to each input variable is determined. The results show that the probability of failure for composites reinforced with natural fibres is lower than for conventional fibre structures while also requiring a heavier structure. However, all of the failures in the analysis occurred due to the serviceability limit state with deflections above the prescribed limit. Whilst it is unlikely that these materials will be chosen for primary stiffening it is a possibility that with improved production techniques, and a reduction of cost with increased up take, that these materials might provide a sustainable alternative in secondary structural applications.

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• Carbon
• simulation
• composite