THE CENTER IMPACT AND RESEARCH APPROACH

The potential research areas of the Center of Excellence can be divided into two broad categories; i) metallic materials, ii) composite materials. Within these two categories emphasis will be placed on materials and technologies that have appeared during the last few decades or materials and technologies that are now emerging and that hold great promise in fulfilling future requirements. The center will focus on the areas that are within its member’s expertise and areas that serve the Kingdom education goals and economy. We examine the status of each category with respect to its contribution to national needs and economic prosperity.

COMPOSITE MATERIALS

Composite materials, formed by the combination of two or more distinct materials in a microscopic scale, have gained increasing popularity in the engineering field. Advanced composites are already extremely important and will be even more critical in the future because they offer the greatest strength and stiffness-to-weight ratio among all engineering materials. Composites are expected to be a key enabler in the development of lighter and more mobile forces. Revolutionary advances in composites are expected to occur from the use of nanotechnology, wireless technology and self-healing mechanisms. Provided that the cost of manufacturing composites continues to decline, composites could displace steel and aluminum as the primary materials in manufacturing, transportation and construction. Therefore, the center of excellence (CEREM ) will pave the way for technological advances in the field of composite and will provide for the efficient and timely transfer and implementation of new technology and techniques to the real world. Furthermore, CEREM will create a focal point for understanding and characterizing advanced composite materials intended for civil structures. Hence, the work in CEREM will be a tangible demonstration of Academia, Government and Industry investigating together to develop cutting-edge technologies which enable scientists and engineers to deliver economical and environmental solutions beneficial for all partners using composite materials. The research activities in the college of engineering in the area of composites can be divided into the following four areas:

Composite for Structural Applications:

Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) and Metal Matrix composites are a relatively new class of composite material manufactured from fibers and resins for FRP and ceramics in a metal matrix for metal matrix composite have become very popular especially in the aerospace industry as structural and high temperature applications. There have been extensive analytical research studies in the college of engineering for utilizing composite materials as structural components. Processing of composites is of the future planned activities where state-of-the-art equipment will be used for composite manufacturing- including textile preform fabrication, Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM/RTM), automated tow placement, autoclave molding, lamination press and microwave curing-joining and repair.

Repair of Concrete Structures using Polymer Composite:

Composite materials have proven efficient and economical for the development and repair of new and deteriorating structures. Fiber reinforced composite designs, with very unique (exceptional) properties, are now being explored in many infrastructural applications as they are super strong, more durable, require less maintenance than traditional construction reinforcing materials, sustain loads without excessive deformation and are more cost-effective than conventional alternatives. Current activities include characterizing the effect of composites on the performance of concrete structures flexural, shear, and column reinforcement test.

Conductive Polymer Composites:

Conductive polymers represent a major class of composite materials. One approach to improve the electrical conductivities of polymer is through the addition of a conductive filler material. Current activities include modeling and testing of conductive and isolative polymers (high voltage laboratory can perform Power Frequency Voltage flash over / withstand test for both dry and wet conditions). While future activities will include design and processing of tailored conductive polymers through Liquid Injection Molding Simulation (LIMS).

Smart Composites:

A new materials age is emerging featuring smart-material functions. Advanced material systems embedded with sensors and/or actuators are attracting worldwide interest because of their potential uses: damage detection, performance monitoring, noise reduction, vibration suppression, actuation, self repair, and fabrication process monitoring. Most of these new material systems have been developed by embedding sensor and/or actuator materials in host structural materials such as polymermatrix composites. These new material systems will be able to replace or simplify complicated mechanical systems. Light-weight, high-strength, and active structural materials could be applied to many active applications such as hatches, doors, flaps, air brakes without hinges, and actuators. There have been extensive research studies on mathematical modeling of the performance of smart materials in structures in the college of engineering. The objective of the center is to manufacture smart materials and to adapt them in composite materials to develop smart structures.