Professor Giuliano Allegri, University of Bristol

Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships 2020-21

Composite materials, in particular fibre-reinforced plastics, are at the forefront of the ongoing green revolution in the transportation industry. This is because composites are lightweight and have excellent mechanical properties. However, as any other engineering material, fibre-reinforced plastics are susceptible to fatigue damage, which manifests itself as a progressive loss of mechanical performance during service life. Fatigue of composite components is currently mitigated via extensive testing to demonstrate durability and safety. This Fellowship, supported by Rolls-Royce plc, is delivering a completely novel physics based numerical framework for predicting the fatigue endurance of composite materials and structures, with particular emphasis on applications in hybrid electric propulsion systems, whose development is critical for achieving carbon neutrality in aviation. This framework will allow adopting a ground-breaking "virtual design" approach to mitigate fatigue in fibre-reinforced plastics, cutting the time to market for novel lightweight products and boosting the world-wide competitiveness of the UK composites sector.

Personal website: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/people/person/Giuliano-Allegri-6940d203-96b2-4a3c-b0c1-fae9cf0ffa62/