NSRP Product Design and Materials Technology Panel Meeting June 15 16, 2010, Pittsburgh, PA

Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites for Infrastructures

Ruifeng Liang and Hota GangaRao CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES CENTER

NSF Industry/University Collaborative Research Center

Center for Integration of Composites into g p Infrastructure (CICI)

West

Virginia Univ. (Lead University) Rutgers Univ. North Carolina State Univ. Miami Univ. Univ Members 30+

Industry

To

promote and advance composites for infrastructural app cat o s applications o Fundamental research o Applied research o Demonstration projects o Education and training

CICI
Vision: To accelerate the adoption of polymer composites into infrastructure application through industry-wide industry wide cooperation Focus: Innovation and mass-production of advanced p y polymer composites in a cost effective manner p Integration of composite members and subsystems into infrastructure systems through rapid construction methods Development and growth through industrial support by targeting at the needs of composites industries as well as construction industries ll t ti i d t i

Composite Application by End Use/Market Percentage /

3.6 billion lbs. of US fiberglass thermoset composites shipments in 2007

Copyright 2008 American Composites Manufacturers Association

FRP Infrastructure Applications pp

Decking for Navy and Marina Highways & Bridges Rapid Housing and Green Buildings Utility Poles U ili P l Pipes Wind Turbine Blades Blast Resistant Structures Chimneys/Flues Rail Road Ties Other Novel Applications

THE PULTRUSION PROGRAM

ONR Grant No. N00014-04/05-1-0050/96 Dr. Ignacio Perez, Program Officer

OBJECTIVE
To demonstrate feasibility of an automated pultrusion process for producing composite sandwich panels (4 x 3.5 x unlimited length) which results in a p g ) product with improved mechanical performance and reduced production cost in relation to VARTM process Target panel: 1/4 FRP face sheets with 3 balsa core

Vacuum-Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM)

Seeman's Composite Resin Injection Molding Process (SCRIMP) Hybrid of VARTM and vacuum bagging

MILESTONES OF THE PROJECT

2004 1 sandwich panel (March 3, 2004), 300 sq ft 3.5 sandwich panel (May 18, 2004), 220 sq ft Each 200 sq ft, total 400 sq ft, No joint 2004 NSWC-VARTM panel (Aug 25, 2004) NSWC 1.25 sandwich panel for bond improvement (Oct 12, 2004, 40 sq ft) Note: Better properties thru pultrusion 2005 3.5 sandwich panel with joining edges 3 5 Two 400 sq ft runs (Jan 26 and June 28, 2005, total 800 sq ft) 2005 VARTM panel (May 31, 2005) Joint evaluation under bending and shear, 100% joint efficiency 2006 3.5 carbon/vinyl ester sandwich panels Two runs, 300 sq ft (June 23 and Sept 19, 2006)) FE analyses Orthotropic 3D Model, fully describing the panels static responses 2007 Carbon/vinyl ester vs. carbon/epoxy 3.5 glass/vinyl ester sandwich panels High Temp Infusion Process 80 sq ft (Sept 19, 2007)) FE analyses Full scale panel modeling, joint modeling

PULTRUSION OF GFRP PANEL -2005

TESTING OF FRP LAMINATES

SEM MICROGRAPHS OF FIBER/RESIN INTERFACE

Pultruded VARTM

Pultruded

VARTM

CFRP Failed Specimens Under Bending

Carbon /VE vs. Carbon/Epoxy The high performance of carbon fiber has not translated into a proportionate property improvement of CFRP composites over GFRP, due to the carbon sizing incompatible with VE. Carbon/epoxy should be recommended. p p y

TESTING FULL SCALE PANEL AND JOINED PANEL

Panel: Span: Test:

4 x 10 100 4 pt loading

Panel: Span: Test:

5 x 8 (by joining two 4 x 5) 80 4 pt loading

Finite Element Modeling of FRP Composite Sandwich Panels and Joints

A VARTM Joint

Deflection contours by 3D orthotropic solid model for 40x100 CFRP panel

CONCLUSIONS
Glass/VE Pultruded panel is ~15-20% stronger and stiffer, and 50% lower in cost than VARTM panel - HT infused panel performs as well as VARTM panel, but costs a third of VARTM panel - 100% j i t efficiency joint ffi i Carbon/VE - P l d d CFRP panel is ~50-100% stiffer, 10-15% stronger Pultruded l i 50 100% iff 10 15% and 15-20 % lighter than pultruded GFRP panel - CFRP property improvement over GFRP not commensurate to cost increase (Carbon ~$15 /lb fiber, $30/ lb fabric vs. Glass ~$0.70/lb, $1.5-2.0/lb fabric) - Carbon/epoxy is strongly recommended, due to compatibility and durability issues with carbon/VE

CONCLUSIONS (contd)
Pultrusion process - Viable and cost effective than VARTM - Hi h quality panel High lit l High Temp Resin Infusion - Large size, flat, glass/VE or carbon/epoxy panel i f / / - Viable and even more cost effective than pultrusion Finite element modeling of panel response - 3D orthotropic solid model (3D geometry + orthotropic material properties) - Viable for accurate predictions of deflection, bending stress, and shear stress - ~100% match between predictions and experimental data

NSRP Project: Development of Manufacturing and Assembly Technology for Low Cost Pultruded Composites

Mark Lossett of NGSB gave the presentation on the ongoing activities at the March 10 11, 2010 Panel Meeting at Biloxi, MS.

Cost Improvement via Pultrusion or Infusion Processes

Deck type Weight Cost Cost per Failure per unit per unit unit stress area area weight ksi k i lbs/sq ft $/sq ft $/lb 22 19 15 10 1818-24 ~80 ~58 ~34 34 ~25 65-100 65~30 3.64 3.05 2.27 2 27 2.5 3.63.6-5 10 30 30 35-40 3525-30 25-

1. Double trapezoid and hexagonal deck

1# FRP 1998 2# FRP 2000 2. Revised trapezoidal deck 3# FRP 2002 4# FRP 2003

3. Lightweight composite bridge deck 4. Low profile bridge deck

Current FRP *

Concrete 90-120 90-

0.29-0.35 4-6 (C)* 0.29< 1 (T)

* Currently used FRP decks. C: Compression T: Tension

Highways & Bridges

Market Street Bridge Wheeling, WV

Highways & Bridges

Goat Farm Bridge, Wirt County, WV

Highways & Bridges

Pleasant Plain Road Bridge g Montgomery County, Ohio

Highways & Bridges

Highways & Bridges

FRP Inspection Walkway Blennerhassett Bridge g Parkersburg, WV

Highways & Bridges g y g

FRP Wraps for rehabilitation

Highways & Bridges

After

Before

FRP Wraps for rehabilitation

Highways & Bridges

FRP Rebar, WV Route 9, Martinsburg, WV

Highways & Bridges

Close-up of instrumented FRP dowel bars

FRP dowels, Elkins, WV

FRP Pavement Panel

Central I-beam (112 ft. long)

View at Section AA
I-Beams on right side (12ft. 6 inches)

I-Beams on left side (12ft. 6 inches)

13 ft

Edge I-beam flanges may be trimmed to obtain C-shaped channel

8.7 ft 8.7 ft
Direction of hollow core cells Figure 2: Panel layout and connections

8.7 ft

13 ft

13 ft

New University High School Morgantown, WV

Field Implementation of FRP Pavement Panels

A section of Bakers Ridge Road near University High School, Morgantown, West Virginia was the first to field-evaluate glass fiber reinforced composite panels for pavement applications (July 2009, Sponsored by WVDOH)

Retaining Walls g

FRP Building

CFC-WVU designed, manufactured, and constructed the first FRP modular building in 1995 in collaboration with WV DOT (photos taken on Aug 27, 2009)

Rapid Housing

FRP composite home being erected at BRP Inc. manufacturing facility

Utility Poles

$4 billion treated wood poles annually in US

Photo courtesy of Hiel, 2001

Pipelines

Each year, ~1000 miles new natural gas pipelines go into service each year while ~1000 i h hil 1000 miles is replaced Over 50 000 miles of new natural 50,000 gas transmission pipelines are being built in the 2001-2010 timeframe at a cost of over $80 billion in North America

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)

OTEC exploits existing ocean temperature gradients to drive a heat engine

78F
72F 46F
Cold Water Pip pe

OTEC Benefits: B fit

Large Renewable Energy Source
Secure source, independent of oil imports Near-carbon free

40F

3-5 Terawatts available* Base Load Power (24/7)

Closed Cycle OTEC System

Credit : Lockheed Martin Co

6/16/2010

Fresh Water Production

* A Preliminary Assessment of OTEC Resources ASME 3/2007

OTEC is a renewable energy source for DOD bases and over 80 countries

35

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Cold Water Pipe

JL

J L Ruhle & Associates

Pipeline Infrastructure in US

FRP Tanks
Photo Courtesy of FRPglasstankandpipe.com

Composite Turbine Blades for Wind Energy

Global market for wind turbines: $935 billion in 2020

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Composite Turbine Blades for Wind Energy

FEA of th A f the Aerodyn d 185 blade identifying axial strains

Fire Protection of Structures

Fire Fi testing of a FRP composite i f i panel Panel withstood 5800 degree F Acetylene torch for 5 minutes

Chimneys/Flues

FRP composites are used in smoke stacks for pollution controls Large diameter FRP structures are needed

Chimneys/Flues
FRP Ductwork (Connection Elbow) (courtesy of International Chimney)

Stack Liner Installation in a Power Plant (Kelley, 2007)

Engineered Recycled Thermoplastic Composites

Offset Blocks Made of Recycled Plastic y

Field Installation and Testing of Full Scale RR Ties Made with Recycled Polymer Composite Shell and Used Wood Tie as a Core

Summary

WVUWVU-CFC has been extensively researching and developing FRP composite materials and systems for infrastructure and p y military applications for over 20 years. Many of these systems have already been field implemented and are performing outstandingly The CFC-WVU team has made major strides in advancing the CFCstate-of-th -art of FRP composite sciences and technologies state-of-the t f t t f theit i dt h l i through integration of new fabric architectures modified resin systems innovative processing methods structurally efficient product designs a wide range of mechanical and chemical (adhesive) joining mechanisms

Summary (Contd)

CFCCFC-WVU will continue to work closely with a range of industrial and government agencies to redefine the boundaries of composite applications and expand the success of field-implementing economical and durable fieldFRP composite structural systems, including natural fiber composites for green buildings. CFCCFC-WVU is currently leading a NSF sponsored Industry/University Collaborative Research Center for Composites Infrastructure. This new multi universityInfrastructure universityindustry Consortium will help pave the path to accomplish the above mission. p