Thin-ply composites, obtained with recently developed fiber spreading techniques, rapidly gained industrial interest because they offer a large composite design freedom, and lead to a composite tensile strength that is close to that of the individual fiber ...
The wetting dynamics of molten thermoplastic polymers, which are known to influence the force balance of the triple line, are not understood properly despite their importance in many industrial processes. In particular, the influence of the molecular weigh ...
Liquid composite moulding methods are widely applied for manufacturing of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites and consist of two main stages: impregnation of fibrous reinforcements by a liquid monomer resin and curing of this resin. This thesis work ...
Platform chemicals, also known as chemical building blocks, are substances that serve as starting materials for the synthesis of various value-added products, which find a wide range of applications. These chemicals are the key ingredients for many fine an ...
In this study, three novel thermoplastic impregnation processes were analyzed towards automotive applications. The first process is thermoplastic compression resin transfer molding in which a glass fiber mat is impregnated in through thickness by a thermop ...
Capillarity plays a crucial role in many natural and engineered systems, ranging from nutrient delivery in plants to functional textiles for wear comfort or thermal heat pipes for heat dissipation. Unlike nano- or microfluidic systems with well-defined por ...
Polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs) exhibit excellent properties and are compatible with many shaping techniques due to the liquid character of the preceramic polymers (PCPs). Furthermore, their properties are adjustable by modifying the precursor composition ...
Elastomer composites are prepared by infiltrating polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) into a porous ceramic structure of nanoparticles. This method differs from the conventional approach, where particles are dispersed into the polymer matrix, since here, the polym ...
Bridges are a critical component of national infrastructures and economies. A significant percentage of bridges built all around the world are made of reinforced concrete which according to building codes have a life span between 80-100 years. However, str ...
In this thesis several advances are made to the emerging field of 3D printed mechanical sensors. Techniques and processes were developed to enable the integration of highly conductive, and capacitive and piezoresistive sensing features embedded within 3D p ...
