Confirmation of Candidature - Candidate : Yashoda Somarathna

The invention of pre-impregnated fibre-reinforced polymer composites (Prepregs) has revolutionised the manufacturing process of complex high-performance composite components and structures. The most unique feature that distinguishes prepregs from conventional fibre composites is their excellent flexibility enabling their usage in complex-shaped composite manufacturing.  Prepreg layup represents over 28% of global carbon fibre reinforced polymer demand by process and accounted for over 50 kilotons of production in 2021. Despite having a huge demand for epoxy-based prepregs, the production of prepregs is confined to a few key players in the field, thus the availability of key technical information on resin formulation and B-staging is extremely limited. The available literature is mainly based on the commercially available prepregs and, hence the resin modification for development of new smart polymers such as shape memory polymers is not possible. This research aims to develop high-performance shape memory polymer (SMP) prepregs for structural applications by mainly modifying the chemical nature of the epoxy resin. The shape memory effect will be useful to obtain higher recoverability, good manufacturability, and easy shifting of the glass transition temperature, which would also be beneficial to produce custom-tailored prepregs. Further enhancement of properties of SMP-prepreg will be carried out by incorporating multi-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoplates, which is another novelty in the proposed project. Fiber-to-resin ratio, curing properties, storage period, tackiness, and thermo-mechanical properties of SMP prepreg will be optimized during the project. In addition, the Netzsch Kinetics Neo simulation software will be employed to understand the resin viscosity and curing process of newly developed SMP pre-pregs. The outcomes of this research will open new avenues to produce more advanced prepregs with optimized properties.

For more information, please email the Graduate Research School or phone on 0746 311088.