The optimization of a natural composite I-beam for 2017 SAMPE miniature bridge competition
Speaker: Evan Armanetti
Faculty Sponsor: Ronald B Bucinell, Ph.D , P.E.
In preparation for a poster presentation at SAMPE Seattle 2017, I hope to first present my work with the Union College community. Through competitions, such as SAMPE, natural composites are beginning to emerge as a viable building material for large-scale infrastructure. Natural composites have some distinct advantages over conventional building materials such as steel; namely due to their environmental impact, strength to weight ratio and resistance to fatigue failures. The natural composite beam I hope to present is completely biodegradable as opposed to steel, which remains in landfills indefinitely. It is also significantly lighter whilst still being capable of supporting comparable loads to its metal counterparts. Lastly, the self-reinforcing nature of composite laminates leaves them far less susceptible to common failure modes, such as crack propagation. Collectively these advantages have the propensity to promote natural composites for large-scale building applications.
The complex nature of composite materials makes predicting mechanical behavior harder than with conventional metals. If understood these complexities allow an engineer to modify a composite laminate to fit a specific design constraint. This means that composite laminates allow optimizations that would otherwise be impossible. Two terms of research, and a graduate level course on composites, has allowed me insight on some of the design and fabrication considerations that go into manufacturing a successful composite structure. My aim is to share this insight with the campus community to promote interest and ultimately research on the topic of natural composites.