| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/R94305/01 |
| Title: |
Faraday: CFRP Impact Management Structures Using Novel Materials |
| Principal Investigator: |
Mills, Mr AR |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Sch of Industrial and Manufacturing Scie |
| Organisation: |
Cranfield University |
| Scheme: |
Faraday (PreFEC) |
| Starts: |
01 September 2002 |
Ends: |
31 August 2005 |
Value (£): |
364,703
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Eng. Dynamics & Tribology |
Materials Characterisation |
| Materials testing & eng. |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Aerospace, Defence and Marine |
Transport Systems and Vehicles |
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| Panel History: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The project addresses the problem of crash energy management in lightweight vehicles. Carbon fibre / epoxy resin composite materials are the most weight efficient, readily manufacturable approach but the design and performance of current solutions are poorly understood and structures are designed empirically. Current structures for motor racing vehicles are extremely costly to fabricate. Three types of novel materials have been selected which potentially offer more effective structures in terms of both weight and cost; 1) carbon fibre braided into an array of narrow tubes, termed Coretex, 2) foam sheet embedded with carbon fibre composite rods which penetrate carbon fibre -epoxy pre-preg laminate facing skins, termed X-Cor 3) arrays of carbon fibre composite rods applied through carbon fibre epoxy pre-preg laminates to form through thickness strengthening. The initial activity will be to design test elements and investigate the relationship between the new materials and element design parameters and the crush behaviour. Bonding approaches will also be investigated to maximise energy absorption. From this first stage of understanding and optimisation, full scale crash structures will be designed, fabricated and tested. These will include engine support frontal rails, front, side and rear crash elements and monocoque type vehicle sidewalls. The results will be used for the development of predictive models of dynamic crushing behaviour for the new materials and joints. From these and the demonstrator structures' crash behaviour, design guidelines will be compiled for a range of vehicle crash structures.
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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 |
| Summary |
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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.cranfield.ac.uk |