Treated flax fibre in Elium Composites
Elium is an infusible thermoplastic resin, which has major advantages in ease of manufacturing and recyclability potential.
Replacing traditional reinforcements with treated flax fibres may lead to more sustainable composites.
Treatment of flax fibre with functionalised graphene oxide
Investigating the effects of silane-functionalized graphene oxide surface treatment on the mechanical and interfacial behavior of flax-epoxy composites.
Graphene oxide is a nano-material with impressive mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties. As it becomes more and more available, its use cases are more widely applicable.
Transforming low-value materials into high-end products
Transformation of low-value materials, such as asphaltene, into high-end products such as composites with a specific focus on carbon fiber development. An example of such is the fabrication of supercapacitors composed of nanofibre mats.
In addition to extrusion and injection molding, I thermostabilise and carbonise nanofibre mats as a part of the transformation process. These processes are instrumental in the preparation of tensile test bars composed of carbon fibres.
Creating carbon nanofibres for multifunctional composites
This project focuses on harnessing the potential of asphaltene to produce carbon nanofibres (CNF) using electrospinning techniques.
These CNFs are then applied in composite materials, enabling the creation of multifunctional composites with a wide range of applications.
Reinforcing composites by modifying cellulose nanofibrils
This project’s main focus is the surface modification of cellulose nanofibrils for use as epoxy composite reinforcements.
Through the use of tannic acid and primary amines, the cellulose surface is hydrophobized, which improves their chemical and mechanical compatibility with hydrophobic epoxy resins.
Formation defects in natural fibre composite reinforcements
This project aims to investigate the forming process and deformation mechanisms of natural woven fabrics towards optimizing their performance in high-volume productions.
The formability of composite reinforcements is closely constrained by the mould’s geometry, fabric material characteristics, and the manufacturing parameters.
Improvement of Finite Element Analysis simulations
This project is based around improving the accuracy of Finite Element Analsyis (FEA) simulations for natural fiber composites. Currently working on a model that will introduce irregularity to the simulation, matching the physical variability seen in natural fibers.
The goal is to develop models that will accurately simulate the mechanical behavior of natural fiber composites until failure.
