Building J07 University of Sydney,
Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2006.
Tel: 61-2-9351 2338 Fax: 61-2-9351 4841
COMPOSITE AND SMART STRUCTURES GROUP (CSSG)
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School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic
Engineering, Building J07 University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2006. Tel: 61-2-9351 2338 Fax: 61-2-9351 4841 |
Composites have become a viable alternative to conventional homogenous material systems. Its usage enhance the mechanical and structural properties and stretches the limit of what could be achieved using conventinal materials. An example is composites used in aircrafts to achieve high strength and stiffness to weight ratios. The ever increasing type of composite materials means that there is a greater variety in tailoring material selection and structural design for particular applications. Structural design which seemed unfeasible could well be realized if composites are considered.
Future applications which will be more demanding in terms of property requirements will see more composite structures being used. In addition, structural systems which were once passive are now becoming active; for example self-diagnosting structural systems, structures with low level intelligence that could respond to the environment and with the ability to reduce vibrations and even changing shapes. This is commonly known as the field of smart structures and it is inevitable that a sophisticated smart structural system would use a combination of materials and hence such systems are composites. The ultimate aim in smart composite structures is to have a structure that has the intelligence to function independently with little input from humans, i.e. a structure that is capable of responding to the environment via control algorithms. Such structures would not only perform the functions programmed into it but also aim to maintain structural integrity and self-preservation.
The work of this group investigates composite structures and smart structures from several perpectives with the
aim of understanding how to create better composite structures. The various interests of the group can be in
Research Projects
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