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ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior...
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ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior and Secondary Structures

A special issue of Aerospace (ISSN 2226-4310).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2018) | Viewed by 89986

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Xiaosu Yi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Faculty of Science and Engineering, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), Ningbo 315100, China
2. AVIC Composite Corporation Ltd. (ACC), Beijing 100000, China
Interests: structural composites; polymer materials; functional composites; process engineering; materials modeling and green composites
Prof. Dr. Konstantinos Tserpes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Technology & Strength of Materials (LTSM), Department of Mechanical Engineering & Aeronautics, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Interests: computational and experimental strength of materials; advanced composites; nanocomposites; adhesives; nanocryctalline materials; multi-scale modeling; bio-based polymers and bio-composites; shock wave mechanics; structural health monitoring; recycling of composites; life-cycle analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, mainly man-made materials, such as carbon and glass fibers, are used to produce composite parts in aviation. Renewable materials, such as natural fibers or bio-sourced resin systems, have not yet found their way into aviation. The project ECO-COMPASS aims to evaluate the potential applications of ecologically improved composite materials in the aviation sector in an international collaboration of Chinese and European partners. Natural fibers like flax and ramie will be used for different types of reinforcements and sandwich cores. Furthermore, bio-based epoxy resins to substitute bisphenol-A based epoxy resins in secondary structures are under investigation. Adapted material protection technologies to reduce environmental influence and to improve fire resistance are needed to fulfil the demanding safety requirements in aviation. Modelling and simulation of chosen eco-composites aims for an optimized use of materials while a Life Cycle Assessment aims to prove the ecological advantages compared to synthetic state-of-the-art materials. This Special Issue will provide selected papers from the project consortium partners.

This Special Issue is cooperating with the special session entitled “ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior and Secondary Structures” that was organized at ICCS20 (Paris, France, 4–7 September 2017, https://events.unibo.it/iccs20). It will give the opportunity to present research activities carried out within the project and to disseminate recent results and achievements.

Authors of outstanding papers related to the ECO-COMPASS project are invited to submit their work to this Special Issue for publication.

Prof. Dr. Xiaosu Yi
Prof. Dr. Konstantinos Tserpes
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Aerospace is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bio-composite
  • eco-composite
  • bio-fibre
  • bio-resin
  • multifunction green composites
  • characterization
  • modelling and simulation
  • applications
  • life cycle assessment
  • aviation

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 136 KiB  
Editorial
Special Issue “ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior and Secondary Structures”
by Xiaosu Yi and Konstantinos Tserpes
Aerospace 2019, 6(2), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6020017 - 13 Feb 2019
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4763
Abstract
Today, composite aircraft structural parts are mainly made of man-made materials, such as carbon and glass fibres and epoxy resin [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior and Secondary Structures)
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Research

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16 pages, 5935 KiB  
Article
Flexural Properties of Wet-Laid Hybrid Nonwoven Recycled Carbon and Flax Fibre Composites in Poly-Lactic Acid Matrix
by Barbara Tse, Xueli Yu, Hugh Gong and Constantinos Soutis
Aerospace 2018, 5(4), 120; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace5040120 - 15 Nov 2018
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 7364
Abstract
Recycling carbon fibre is crucial in the reduction of waste from the increasing use of carbon fibre reinforced composites in industry. The reclaimed fibres, however, are usually short and discontinuous as opposed to the continuous virgin carbon fibre. In this work, short recycled [...] Read more.
Recycling carbon fibre is crucial in the reduction of waste from the increasing use of carbon fibre reinforced composites in industry. The reclaimed fibres, however, are usually short and discontinuous as opposed to the continuous virgin carbon fibre. In this work, short recycled carbon fibres (rCF) were mixed with flax and poly-lactic acid (PLA) fibres acting as the matrix to form nonwoven mats through wet-laying. The mats were compression moulded to produce composites with different ratios of rCF and flax fibre in the PLA matrix. Their flexural behaviour was examined through three-point-bending tests, and their morphological properties were characterised with scanning electron and optical microscopes. Experimental data showed that the flexural properties increased with higher rCF content, with the maximum being a flexural modulus of approximately 14 GPa and flexural strength of 203 MPa with a fibre volume fraction of 75% rCF and 25% flax fibre. The intimate mixing of the fibres contributed to a lesser reduction of flexural properties when increasing the flax fibre content. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior and Secondary Structures)
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16 pages, 5697 KiB  
Article
Flexural Mechanical Properties of Hybrid Epoxy Composites Reinforced with Nonwoven Made of Flax Fibres and Recycled Carbon Fibres
by Jens Bachmann, Martin Wiedemann and Peter Wierach
Aerospace 2018, 5(4), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace5040107 - 10 Oct 2018
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 8698
Abstract
Can a hybrid composite made of recycled carbon fibres and natural fibres improve the flexural mechanical properties of epoxy composites compared to pure natural fibre reinforced polymers (NFRP)? Growing environmental concerns have led to an increased interest in the application of bio-based materials [...] Read more.
Can a hybrid composite made of recycled carbon fibres and natural fibres improve the flexural mechanical properties of epoxy composites compared to pure natural fibre reinforced polymers (NFRP)? Growing environmental concerns have led to an increased interest in the application of bio-based materials such as natural fibres in composites. Despite their good specific properties based on their low fibre density, the application of NFRP in load bearing applications such as aviation secondary structures is still limited. Low strength NFRP, compared to composites such as carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP), have significant drawbacks. At the same time, the constantly growing demand for CFRP in aviation and other transport sectors inevitably leads to an increasing amount of waste from manufacturing processes and end-of-life products. Recovering valuable carbon fibres by means of recycling and their corresponding re-application is an important task. However, such recycled carbon fibres (rCF) are usually available in a deteriorated (downcycled) form compared to virgin carbon fibres (vCF), which is limiting their use for high performance applications. Therefore, in this study the combination of natural fibres and rCF in a hybrid composite was assessed for the effect on flexural mechanical properties. Monolithic laminates made of hybrid nonwoven containing flax fibres and recycled carbon fibres were manufactured with a fibre volume fraction of 30% and compared to references with pure flax and rCF reinforcement. Three-point bending tests show a potential increase in flexural mechanical properties by combining rCF and flax fibre in a hybrid nonwoven. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior and Secondary Structures)
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13 pages, 6949 KiB  
Article
A Multi-Scale Modeling Approach for Simulating Crack Sensing in Polymer Fibrous Composites Using Electrically Conductive Carbon Nanotube Networks. Part II: Meso- and Macro-Scale Analyses
by Konstantinos Tserpes and Christos Kora
Aerospace 2018, 5(4), 106; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace5040106 - 9 Oct 2018
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5236
Abstract
This is the second of a two-paper series describing a multi-scale modeling approach developed to simulate crack sensing in polymer fibrous composites by exploiting interruption of electrically conductive carbon nanotube (CNT) networks. The approach is based on the finite element (FE) method. Numerical [...] Read more.
This is the second of a two-paper series describing a multi-scale modeling approach developed to simulate crack sensing in polymer fibrous composites by exploiting interruption of electrically conductive carbon nanotube (CNT) networks. The approach is based on the finite element (FE) method. Numerical models at three different scales, namely the micro-scale, the meso-scale and the macro-scale, have been developed using the ANSYS APDL environment. In the present paper, the meso- and macro-scale analyses are described. In the meso-scale, a two-dimensional model of the CNT/polymer matrix reinforced by carbon fibers is used to develop a crack sensing methodology from a parametric study which relates the crack position and length with the reduction of current flow. In the meso-model, the effective electrical conductivity of the CNT/polymer computed from the micro-scale is used as input. In the macro-scale, the final implementation of the crack sensing methodology is performed on a CNT/polymer/carbon fiber composite volume using as input the electrical response of the cracked CNT/polymer derived at the micro-scale and the crack sensing methodology. Analyses have been performed for cracks of two different lengths. In both cases, the numerical model predicts with good accuracy both the length and position of the crack. These results highlight the prospect of conductive CNT networks to be used as a localized structural health monitoring technique. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior and Secondary Structures)
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12 pages, 3070 KiB  
Article
Effect of Ramie Fabric Chemical Treatments on the Physical Properties of Thermoset Polylactic Acid (PLA) Composites
by Chunhong Wang, Zilong Ren, Shan Li and Xiaosu Yi
Aerospace 2018, 5(3), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace5030093 - 2 Sep 2018
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 7790
Abstract
Ramie fabric-reinforced thermoset polylactic acid (PLA) composites were prepared by using heat pressing technology. Fabrics were treated with alkali, silane, and alkali–silane respectively, expecting an improvement of the interface between the fabric and the matrix. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results indicated that after [...] Read more.
Ramie fabric-reinforced thermoset polylactic acid (PLA) composites were prepared by using heat pressing technology. Fabrics were treated with alkali, silane, and alkali–silane respectively, expecting an improvement of the interface between the fabric and the matrix. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results indicated that after alkali treatment, impurities on the fiber surface were removed and its diameter became finer. After the silane, and alkali–silane treatments, the contact angles of the ramie fibers increased by 14.26%, and 33.12%, respectively. The contact angle of the alkali–silane treated fiber reached 76.41°; this is beneficial for the adhesion between ramie fiber and the PLA. The research revealed that the tensile strength of the fiber increased after the alkali and silane treatments. A slight decrease was noticed on the tensile strength of fibers treated with alkali–silane. After all, three chemical treatments were done, the flexure strength of the ramie fabric-reinforced PLA composites, improved in all cases. Among the three treatments, the alkali–silane treatment demonstrated the best result, as far as the flexure strength and modulus of the fabricated composites were concerned. On the other hand, water absorption of the related composites decreased by 23.70%, which might contribute to the closer contact between the ramie fiber and the matrix. The ramie fabric-reinforced PLA composites, prepared in this study, can meet the standard requirements of aircraft interior structures and have favorable application foreground. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior and Secondary Structures)
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11 pages, 1510 KiB  
Article
Life Cycle Assessment of Ramie Fiber Used for FRPs
by Shaoce Dong, Guijun Xian and Xiao-Su Yi
Aerospace 2018, 5(3), 81; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace5030081 - 3 Aug 2018
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 8174
Abstract
With the depletion of natural resources and the deterioration of environment, natural fiber based biomaterials are attracting more and more attentions. Natural fibers are considered to be renewable, biodegradable, and ecofriendly, and have been applied to be used as alternative reinforcements to traditional [...] Read more.
With the depletion of natural resources and the deterioration of environment, natural fiber based biomaterials are attracting more and more attentions. Natural fibers are considered to be renewable, biodegradable, and ecofriendly, and have been applied to be used as alternative reinforcements to traditional glass fibers for polymer based composites (GFRP). Natural fiber reinforced polymer (NFRP) composites have been found to be manufactured as secondary structures or interior parts of aircrafts or automobiles. In this paper, a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) study was performed to demonstrate the possible advantages of ramie fiber on environmental impacts and to provide fundamental data for the further assessment of ramie fiber reinforced polymers (RFRP) and its structures. By collecting the material inventories of the production process of ramie fiber, the environmental impacts of ramie fiber (characterized by eight main impact categories, which are climate change, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, human toxicity potential, ozone depletion, photochemical oxidant creation, freshwater ecotoxicity, and fossil depletion) were calculated and compared with that of glass fiber. Found if spinning process is ignored within the production of the ramie fiber, ramie fiber exhibits better ozone depletion and they have almost the same values of climate change and terrestrial acidification in terms of glass fiber. However, if the spinning process is included, ramie fiber only performs better in terms of ozone depletion. And degumming and carding and spinning processes are the processes that cause more pollution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior and Secondary Structures)
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15 pages, 7140 KiB  
Article
Effect of Paper or Silver Nanowires-Loaded Paper Interleaves on the Electrical Conductivity and Interlaminar Fracture Toughness of Composites
by Miaocai Guo and Xiaosu Yi
Aerospace 2018, 5(3), 77; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace5030077 - 19 Jul 2018
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5917
Abstract
The effect of plant-fiber paper or silver nanowires-loaded paper interleaves on the electrical conductivity and interlaminar fracture toughness of composites was studied. Highly conductive paper was prepared by surface-loaded silver nanowires. The percolation threshold appeared at about 0.4 g/m2. The surface [...] Read more.
The effect of plant-fiber paper or silver nanowires-loaded paper interleaves on the electrical conductivity and interlaminar fracture toughness of composites was studied. Highly conductive paper was prepared by surface-loaded silver nanowires. The percolation threshold appeared at about 0.4 g/m2. The surface resistivity reached 2.3 Ω/sq when the areal density of silver nanowires was 0.95 g/m2. After interleaving the conductive papers in the composite interlayers, in-plane electrical conductivity perpendicular to the fiber direction was increased by 171 times and conductivity through thickness direction was increased by 2.81 times. However, Mode I and Mode II interlaminar fracture toughness decreased by 67.3% and 66.9%, respectively. Microscopic analysis showed that the improvement of conductivity was attributable to the formation of an electrical conducting network of silver nanowires which played a role in electrical connection of carbon fiber plies and the interleaving layers. However, the density of the highly packed flat plant fibers impeded the infiltration of resin. The parallel distribution of flat fibers to the carbon plies, and poor resin-fiber interface made the interlaminar fracture occur mainly at the interface of plant fibers and resin inside the interleaves, resulting in a decline of the interlaminar fracture toughness. The surface-loading of silver nanowires further impeded the infiltration of resin in the densely packed plant fibers, resulting in further decline of the fracture toughness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior and Secondary Structures)
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13 pages, 6219 KiB  
Article
Sound Absorption Characterization of Natural Materials and Sandwich Structure Composites
by Jichun Zhang, Yiou Shen, Bing Jiang and Yan Li
Aerospace 2018, 5(3), 75; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace5030075 - 11 Jul 2018
Cited by 51 | Viewed by 9719
Abstract
Natural fiber and wood are environmentally friendly materials with multiscale microstructures. The sound absorption performance of flax fiber and its reinforced composite, as well as balsa wood, were evaluated using the two-microphone transfer function technique with an impedance tube system. The microstructures of [...] Read more.
Natural fiber and wood are environmentally friendly materials with multiscale microstructures. The sound absorption performance of flax fiber and its reinforced composite, as well as balsa wood, were evaluated using the two-microphone transfer function technique with an impedance tube system. The microstructures of natural materials were studied through scanning electrical microscope in order to reveal their complex acoustical dissipation mechanisms. The sound absorption coefficients of flax fiber fabric were predicted using a double-porosity model, which showed relatively accurate results. The integrated natural materials sandwich structure was found to provide a superior sound absorption performance compared to the synthetic-materials-based sandwich structure composite due to the contribution of their multiscale structures to sound wave attenuation and energy dissipation. It was concluded that the natural-materials-based sandwich structure has the potential of being used as a sound absorption structure, especially at high frequency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior and Secondary Structures)
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9 pages, 4083 KiB  
Article
Development of Bio-Sourced Epoxies for Bio-Composites
by Xiao-Su Yi, Xvfeng Zhang, Fangbo Ding and Jianfeng Tong
Aerospace 2018, 5(2), 65; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace5020065 - 15 Jun 2018
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6659
Abstract
In the air and ground transportation sectors, new environmental regulations and societal concerns have triggered a search for new products and processes that complement resources and the environment. To address these issues, this article reports on current R&D efforts to develop bio-sourced materials [...] Read more.
In the air and ground transportation sectors, new environmental regulations and societal concerns have triggered a search for new products and processes that complement resources and the environment. To address these issues, this article reports on current R&D efforts to develop bio-sourced materials by an international joint project. Novel bio-sourced epoxies and biocomposites were developed, characterized, modified and evaluated in terms of the mechanical property levels. Quasi-structural composite parts were finally trial-manufactured and demonstrated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior and Secondary Structures)
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Review

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35 pages, 2354 KiB  
Review
A Review of Recent Research on Bio-Based Epoxy Systems for Engineering Applications and Potentialities in the Aviation Sector
by Eric Ramon, Carmen Sguazzo and Pedro M. G. P. Moreira
Aerospace 2018, 5(4), 110; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace5040110 - 16 Oct 2018
Cited by 131 | Viewed by 13300
Abstract
Epoxy resins are one of the most widely used thermosets in different engineering fields, due to their chemical resistance and thermo-mechanical properties. Recently, bio-based thermoset resin systems have attracted significant attention given their environmental benefits related to the wide variety of available natural [...] Read more.
Epoxy resins are one of the most widely used thermosets in different engineering fields, due to their chemical resistance and thermo-mechanical properties. Recently, bio-based thermoset resin systems have attracted significant attention given their environmental benefits related to the wide variety of available natural resources, as well as the resulting reduction in the use of petroleum feedstocks. During the last two decades, considerable improvement on the properties of bio-sourced resins has been achieved to obtain performances comparable to petroleum-based systems. This paper reviews recent advances on new bio-based epoxy resins, derived from natural oils, natural polyphenols, saccharides, natural rubber and rosin. Particular focus has been given to novel chemical formulations and resulting mechanical properties of natural derived- epoxies, curing agents or entire systems, constituting an interesting alternative for a large variety of engineering applications, including the aviation sector. The present work is within the scope of the ECO-COMPASS project, where new bio-sourced epoxy matrixes for green composites are under investigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior and Secondary Structures)
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Other

15 pages, 14880 KiB  
Project Report
Towards a Circular Economy in the Aviation Sector Using Eco-Composites for Interior and Secondary Structures. Results and Recommendations from the EU/China Project ECO-COMPASS
by Jens Bachmann, Xiaosu Yi, Konstantinos Tserpes, Carmen Sguazzo, Lucia Gratiela Barbu, Barbara Tse, Constantinos Soutis, Eric Ramón, Hector Linuesa and Stéphane Bechtel
Aerospace 2021, 8(5), 131; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace8050131 - 5 May 2021
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 10077
Abstract
Fiber reinforced polymers play a crucial role as enablers of lightweight and high performing structures to increase efficiency in aviation. However, the ever-increasing awareness for the environmental impacts has led to a growing interest in bio-based and recycled ‘eco-composites’ as substitutes for the [...] Read more.
Fiber reinforced polymers play a crucial role as enablers of lightweight and high performing structures to increase efficiency in aviation. However, the ever-increasing awareness for the environmental impacts has led to a growing interest in bio-based and recycled ‘eco-composites’ as substitutes for the conventional synthetic constituents. Recently, the international collaboration of Chinese and European partners in the ECO-COMPASS project provided an assessment of different eco-materials and technologies for their potential application in aircraft interior and secondary composite structures. This project summary reports the main findings of the ECO-COMPASS project and gives an outlook to the next steps necessary for introducing eco-composites as an alternative solution to fulfill the CLEAN SKY target. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ECO-COMPASS: Ecological and Multifunctional Composites for Application in Aircraft Interior and Secondary Structures)
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