Composite materials are combinations of two or more constituent materials (or phases) characterized by physical, chemical and/or mechanical properties remarkably different between them. When the constituents are combined, the result is a composite which properties are anyway different from the relevant ones of the single components.
This Research Project (RP) focuses on the structural behavior of composites and is scheduled in four main groups of tasks, Work Packages. WP1 is dedicated to the modeling of composites and attention is paid to methodologies for constitutive behavior modeling and failure mechanism prediction. WP2 concerns the testing of prototypes and samples of composite materials, with specific reference to application of composites in structural fields. Simulation analyses are the task of WP3, where the main findings of the first two work packages are collected and combined to move a step forward in the state of the art. WP4, refers to the dissemination of the results, through both conference proceedings and journal articles. Aiming at guarantee the feasibility of the RP, the four WPs, described in the following sections, are organized with appropriate time overlaps and with a clear partition of the activities and tasks among all the participants.
All work packages will be developed considering both the linear and non-linear structural response, in both static and dynamic contexts. The proposed approaches fall within the scope of mechanical and numerical modeling of non-homogeneous materials, where the relative experimental validation is a decisive task prior to practical applications. During the simulations, particular attention will be paid to the predictive capabilities of the models for the evaluation of the ultimate loadings, whether these are related to the material strength or to phenomena of loss of stability. Textile Reinforced Mortar composite is one of the most significance case study that the research project aims to approach.
