Vidi grant: Designing dormant sustainable materials

Mohammad Fotouhi receives a NWO Vidi grant. Inspired by nature’s hibernation, he will extend the lifetime of composite materials. By giving part of the material some rest if their function is not needed, fatigue is being postponed. 

Composite material is being used more and more, think of ever-growing windmills and lightweight aircrafts. Composite material makes a strong and light weighed structure. But the material lacks ductility, making it stiff, but also brittle.  

Dormant ductility 

The material is subjected to variable loading conditions, so it is smart to use hybrid composites. The layers combine two types of materials, one ductile but prone to fatigue, and one durable but brittle. Mohammad Fotouhi, assistant professor in Structural Health Monitoring at the department 3MD, aims to make the ductile material dormant: “When we let the brittle material carry all the load during normal use and use the ductile material only in critical situations, we will have a durable and ductile composite.” 

Extending lifetime  

This opens opportunities for cost effective and sustainable material. “We can combine expensive with cheaper materials, and design it in a way we only use the parts when we need it to extend the lifetime”, says Fotouhi.