Civil Engineering Structures Incorporating Advanced Composite Materials
Event details
| Date | 27.11.2015 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:15 |
| Speaker | Dr Wendel Sebastian, Reader in Structural Engineering, University of Bristol, United Kingdom |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Due to their high stiffness-to-weight and strength-to-weight ratios, along with their corrosion resistance, advanced composites (commonly glass and carbon fibre reinforced polymers) are well-established as renowned structural materials in high-level aerospace and automotive applications. For similar reasons these materials show strong potential for cost-effective life extension of existing Civil Engineering structures (e.g. buildings and bridges), and also, in combination with traditional construction materials, for economic new-build of light, rapidly assembled bridges with potentially enhanced durability. In these Civil Engineering applications, the key is to develop solutions which exploit the properties unique to advanced composites. This requires investigation of the underlying mechanics of structures incorporating these exciting materials. The talk will describe research at Bristol University focused on such mechanics. The two examples chosen – one for existing structures, the other for new-build – will illustrate the following concepts, namely :
• The benefit of sometimes inverting design philosophy - from strengthening to stiffening - at the ultimate limit state.
• Long-term effects due to local interaction between lorry tyres and bridge decks made of these novel, anisotropic composite materials
Bio : Dr Wendel Sebastian is a Reader in Structural Engineering at the University of Bristol. His research on composite structures spans from road bridges made wholly or partly of advanced composite materials, to timber-concrete composite floors for buildings. He has led multiple projects entailing tests at different scales (from material coupons to full-scale bridges) in the laboratory, in parallel with nonlinear numerical analyses and, recently, field testing and remote monitoring of in-service road bridges with advanced composite decks. An important feature of these projects is the feeding of research outputs into existing design guidance (e.g. TR55 for advanced composite strengthening of concrete structures, or the emerging European technical document for new-build advanced composite bridges).
• The benefit of sometimes inverting design philosophy - from strengthening to stiffening - at the ultimate limit state.
• Long-term effects due to local interaction between lorry tyres and bridge decks made of these novel, anisotropic composite materials
Bio : Dr Wendel Sebastian is a Reader in Structural Engineering at the University of Bristol. His research on composite structures spans from road bridges made wholly or partly of advanced composite materials, to timber-concrete composite floors for buildings. He has led multiple projects entailing tests at different scales (from material coupons to full-scale bridges) in the laboratory, in parallel with nonlinear numerical analyses and, recently, field testing and remote monitoring of in-service road bridges with advanced composite decks. An important feature of these projects is the feeding of research outputs into existing design guidance (e.g. TR55 for advanced composite strengthening of concrete structures, or the emerging European technical document for new-build advanced composite bridges).
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Organizer
- Prof. Dr Brice Lecampion & Katrin Beyer
Contact
- Prof. Dr Thomas Keller, CCLAB