Fibre reinforced plastics (FRP) are increasingly employed in structural parts of the automotive, aviation and aerospace as well as railway industries. For those applications a heavily loaded, as well as crash and safety relevant force translation component is developed. This Hybrid-Insert consists of SMC and a metal insert, and is based on modular assembly through standard elements. The galvanic insulation of the metal insert by the SMC provides an excellent corrosion protection. The couplingstrength of the metal insert moulded into the SMC fulfills the tensile requirements of a M10 10.9 screw fit by VDI 2230 standards. Additionally the component provides a high degree of energy absorption and a gradual failure process. / Faserverstärkte Kunststoffe (FVK) werden zunehmend in Strukturbauteilen der Automobil-,der Luft- und Raumfahrt- sowie der Schienenfahrzeugindustrie eingesetzt. Für diese Anwendungen wird ein hochbelastetes sowie crash- und sicherheitsrelevantes Krafteinleitungselement entwickelt. Dieses Hybrid-Insert, bestehend aus SMC und einem Metalleinsatz, ist modular aus Standardkomponenten aufgebaut. Die galvanische Isolation des Metalleinsatzes durch das SMC bietet für diesen einen hervorragenden Korrosionsschutz. Die Verankerungsfestigkeit des Metalleinsatzes im SMC genügt den Anforderungen einer M10 10.9 Verschraubung nach VDI 2230. Zusätzlich zeichnet sich das Krafteinleitungselement durch eine hohe Energieabsorption und ein gutmütiges Versagen aus.

Em geral, as formulações disponíveis na literatura para a análise de cascas laminadas reforçadas com fibras substituem o meio original heterogêneo por um homogêneo equivalente, que dificulta a identificação das tensões fibra-matriz, ou requerem que a malha de elementos finitos seja disposta de modo que os nós dos elementos finitos de fibra coincidam com os nós dos elementos finitos de casca, que é uma exigência bastante restritiva e que aumenta o número de graus de liberdade do sistema de equações resultante. Neste sentido, o objetivo geral desta tese consiste em desenvolver uma formulação para a inclusão de fibras longas e curtas aleatórias nas diversas lâminas de cascas laminadas anisotrópicas com não linearidade geométrica utilizando o método dos elementos finitos sem aumentar o número de graus de liberdade do sistema de equações resultante e sem a necessidade de coincidência de nós na discretização das fibras e da matriz. Nesta formulação, o elemento finito triangular de casca laminada utilizado para discretizar a matriz possui dez nós e sete graus de liberdade por nó, sendo três translações, três componentes do vetor generalizado e a taxa de variação linear da deformação ao longo da espessura. As fibras curvas, curtas aleatórias ou longas, são introduzidas, em qualquer camada do laminado, por meio de relações cinemáticas que garantem sua aderência à matriz sem a introdução de novos graus de liberdade no sistema de equações resultante. Para discretizá-las são utilizados elementos finitos unidimensionais de ordem qualquer com três graus de liberdade por nó e que consideram consistentemente a não linearidade geométrica. Todas as grandezas envolvidas são escritas em relação à configuração inicial do corpo, caracterizando a descrição Lagrangeana total ou material do movimento. Para modelar o comportamento do material adota-se a Lei Constitutiva de Saint-Venant-Kirchhoff que relaciona de forma linear o tensor de tensões de Piolla-Kirchhoff de segunda espécie e o tensor de deformações de Green-Lagrange. O equilíbrio é encontrado a partir do Princípio da Mínima Energia Potencial Total e o sistema não linear de equações resultante é resolvido utilizando-se o procedimento iterativo de Newton-Raphson. As ações externas podem ser introduzidas ao sistema de forma total ou incremental e a contribuição das fibras para a energia do sistema é adicionada na matriz global do problema. Os exemplos numéricos testados validam e demonstram as potencialidades da formulação proposta. / In general, the Finite Element (FE) formulations available in the literature for the analysis of fibre reinforced laminated shells replace the original heterogeneous medium by an equivalent homogeneous one, which makes difficult the identification of fiber-matrix stress distribution, or require that the finite element mesh is arranged in a way that the fibre finite element nodes coincide with the shell finite element ones, which is a very restrictive requirement and increases the number of degrees of freedom of the resulting system of equations. In this sense, the objective of this thesis is to develop a formulation for the inclusion of long and random short fibres in any layer of FE laminated anisotropic shells developing large displacement and rotations without increasing the number of degrees of freedom and the necessity of matching nodes in the discretization of the fibre and the matrix. In this formulation, the triangular laminated shell finite element used to discretize the matrix has ten nodes and seven degrees of freedom per node, that are, three translations, three components of a generalized vector and the linear rate of strain variation along the thickness. The curved fibres, long or random short, are introduced in any layer of the laminate shell by means of kinematic relation to ensure its adherence to the matrix without introducing new degrees of freedom in the resulting system of equations. To discretize them, any order one-dimensional finite elements with three degrees of freedom per node are used. These fibres elements are consistently considered by Geometric nonlinearity. All involved variables are written with respect to the initial configuration of the body, characterizing the Total Lagrangian description. To model the behavior of the material we use the Saint-VenantKirchhoff Constitutive Law that relates linearly the second Piolla-Kirchhoff stress tensor and Green-Lagrange strain tensor. The equilibrium is achieved from the Principle of Minimum Potential Energy and the non-linear system of equations is solved by the Newton-Raphson iterative procedure. External loads may be introduced to the system by one or various steps and the contribution of fibres to the energy of the system is added to the global matrix of the problem. The numerical examples validate and demonstrate the potential of the proposed formulation.

This thesis presents the development of a new multiscale stochastic fracture mechanics modelling framework informed by in-situ X-ray Computed Tomography (X-ray CT) tests, which can be used to enhance the quality of new designs and prognosis practices for fibre reinforced composites. To reduce the empiricism and conservatism of existing methods, this PhD research systematically has tackled several challenging tasks including: (i) extension of the cohesive interface crack model to multi-phase composites in both 2D and 3D, (ii) development of a new in-house loading rig to support in-situ X-ray CT tests, (iii) reconstruction of low phase-contrast X-ray CT datasets of carbon fibre composites, (iv) integration of X-ray CT image-based models into detailed crack propagation FE modelling and (v) validation of a partially informed multiscale stochastic modelling method by direct comparison with in-situ X-ray CT tensile test results.

Devido à fragilidade do concreto, o controle e combate da fissuração são de importância fundamental em estruturas de concreto armado. Uma maneira de melhorar as propriedades do concreto à tração é pelo emprego de fibras. A presente pesquisa é uma tentativa de fornecer diretrizes para o dimensionamento de estruturas de concreto armado com fibras, e armadura convencional sob condições de serviço. Apresenta-se inicialmente, um estudo do comportamento do material à tração. Um modelo probabilístico/micro-mecânico fundamentado na mecânica de fratura, e capaz de prever o comportamento pós-fissuração do compósito é apresentado. O modelo prevê a relação tensão-abertura de fissura do compósito levando em conta os seguintes micro-mecanismos: travejamento de agregado e fibras, a ruptura das fibras, os efeitos de: atrito local (snubbing effect), esmagamento da matriz, Cook-Gordon, e da pré-tração das fibras. Em nível estrutural, dois modelos macro-mecânicos são apresentados. O primeiro modelo tem premissa na teoria clássica de fissura, e o segundo na mecânica de dado. O primeiro modelo é ajustado para aplicação na previsão de espaçamento e aberturas de fissura em estruturas de concreto armado com fibras discretas e aleatoriamente dispostas. É demostrado que o modelo micro-mecânico pode alimentar perfeitamente o modelo macro-mecânico. Ensaios de tração com elementos de placas de argamassa com fibras armada com tela ou fios foram realizados. Os resultados teóricos previstos pelo modelo foram comparados com os obtidos do programa experimental, e mostram uma boa concordância, comprovando a validade do modelo apresentado. / Due to the brittleness of concrete, the control and prevention of cracking in reinforced concrete structures are of prime importance. One way of improving the tensile properties of concrete is by the addition of fibres. The present research is a trial to provide guidelines for the design of fibre reinforced concrete structures under service loads. First of all, a study of the tensile behaviour of the composite material is presented. A probabilistic/fracture mechanics based micromechanical model, capable of predicting the poscracking behaviour of the material is presented. The model predicts the tensile stress-crack width relationship, accounting for the following micromechanisms: fibre and aggregate bridging, fibre rupture, local snubbing, matrix spalling, the Cook-Gordon interface effect, and fibre prestressing. At the structural level, two macromechanical models are presented. One is founded on the classical theory of cracking, while the other, a shear lag model, is founded on the continuum damage mechanics. The first model is adjusted for application to the prevision of crack width and crack spacing in fibre reinforced concrete structures with short discrete and randomly dispersed fibres. It is shown that the micromechanical model fits very well in the macrostructural model. Tensile tests with mortar specimens reinforced with continuous steel wires or meshes and PVA or polypropylene fibres were carried out. The theoretical results predicted by the model were compared with results obtained from the experimental program, and show very good agreement, confirming the validity of the theoretical model.

Au cours des dernières décennies, le développement de nouveaux matériaux a progressé pour les applications liées à la mécanique. De nouvelles générations de composites ont été développées, qui peut offrir des avantages par rapport aux tapis unidirectionnels renforcés de fibres couramment utilisés les matériaux prennent alors le nom de woven fabrics. Le comportement de ce matériau est fortement influencé par la micro-structure du matériau. Dans la thèse, les modèles mécaniques et les schémas numériques capables de modéliser les comportement des tissus et des matériaux de réseau généraux ont été développés. Le modèle prend en compte la micro-structure au moyen d'une technique d'homogénéisation. Les fibres dans le réseau ont été traités comme des micro-poutres, ayant une rigidité à la fois en extension et en flexion, avec différents types de connexions. La procédure développée a été appliquée pour obtenir les modèles mécaniques homogénéisés pour certains types de réseaux de fibres biaxiaux et quadriaxiaux, simulant soit des réseaux de fibres (en ce cas a été supposé parmi les fibres) ou des tissus avec une interaction négligeable entre les faisceaux de fibres et en empêchant tout glissement relatif (dans ce cas, les connexions ont été simulés au moyen de pivots). Différentes géométries ont été analysées, y compris la cas dans lesquels les fibres ne sont pas orthogonales. On obtient généralement un premier milieu à gradient mais, dans certains cas, la procédure d'homogénéisation lui-même indique qu'un continuum d'ordre supérieur est mieux adapté pour représenter la déformation de la micro-structure. Des résultats spéciaux ont été obtenus dans le cas de fibres reliées par pivots. Dans ce cas, un matériau orthotrope à module de cisaillement nul a été obtenu. Un tel matériau a un tenseur constitutif elliptique, il peut donc conduire à des concentrations de contrainte. Cependant, il a été montré que certaines considérations sur le comportement physique de tels réseaux indiqué que les termes d'ordre supérieur inclus dans l'expansion des forces internes et des déformations, de sorte qu'un matériau de gradient de déformation a été obtenu. Les résultats obtenus peuvent être utilisés pour la conception de matériaux spécifiques nécessitant des propriétés. Bien que le modèle de référence soit un matériau de réseau, les résultats obtenus peuvent être appliqué à d'autres types similaires de microstructures, comme des matériaux pantographiques, des micro-dispositifs composé de micro-poutres, etc. Ils étaient limités à la gamme d'élasticité linéaire, qui est petite déformation et comportement élastique linéaire. Ensuite, les simulations numériques ont été axées sur les tests d'extension et les tests de biais. Le obtenu configurations déformées sont conformes aux tests expérimentaux de la littérature, tant pour tissus équilibrés et non équilibrés. De plus, une comparaison entre les premier et deuxième gradients des prédictions numériques ont été effectuées. Il a été observé que les prédictions de deuxième gradient mieux simuler les preuves expérimentales. / In the past decades there has been an impressive progress in the development of new materials for mechanical related applications. New generations of composites have been developed, that can offer advantages over the unidirectional fibre-reinforced mats commonly used then materials take the name of woven fabrics. The behaviour of this material is strongly influenced by the micro-structure of the material. In the thesis mechanical models and a numerical scheme able to model the mechanical behaviour of woven fabrics and general network materials have been developed. The model takes in to account the micro-structure by means of a homogenization technique. The fibres in the network have been treated like microbeams, having both extensional and bending stiffness, with different types of connection, according to the pattern and detail of the network. The developed procedure was applied for obtaining the homogenized mechanical models for some types of biaxial and quadriaxial networks of fibres, simulating either fibre nets (in this case rigid connection were assumed among the fibres) or tissues with negligible interaction between the fibre bundles, and with relative sliding prevented (in this case the connections were simulated by means of pivots). Different geometries were analysed, including the cases in which the fibres are not orthogonal. A first gradient medium is usually obtained but, in some cases, the homogenization procedure itself indicates that a higher order continuum is better fit to represent the deformation of the micro-structure. Special results were obtained for the case of fibres connected by pivots. In this cases an orthotropic material with zero shear modulus was obtained. Such a material has a not elliptic constitutive tensor, thus it can lead to strain concentrations. However, it was shown that some considerations about the physical behaviour of such networks indicated that higher order terms had to be included in the expansion of the internal forces and deformations, so that a strain gradient material was obtained. The results obtained can be used for the design of specific materials requiring ad-hoc properties. Although the reference model is a network material, the results obtained can be applied to other similar kinds of microstructures, like pantographic materials, micro devices composed by microbeams etc. They have been limited at the range of linear elasticity, that is small deformation and linear elastic behaviour. Then, numerical simulations were focused on extension tests and bias tests. The obtained deformed configurations are consistent with the literature experimental tests, both for balanced and unbalanced tissues. Moreover, a comparison between first and second gradient numerical predictions was performed. It was observed that second gradient predictions better simulate the experimental evidences.

This thesis examines the development of a superstructure for a slab-on-girder wood-concrete composite highway bridge. Wood-concrete composite bridges have existed since the 1930's. Historically, they have been limited to spans of less than 10 m. Renewed research interest over the past two decades has shown great potential for longer span capabilities. Through composite action and suitable detailing, improvements in strength, stiffness, and durability can be achieved versus conventional wood bridges. The bridge makes use of a slender ultra-high performance fibre-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) deck made partially-composite in longitudinal bending with glued-laminated wood girders. Longitudinal external unbonded post-tensioning is utilized to increase span capabilities. Prefabrication using double-T modules minimizes the need for cast-in-place concrete on-site. Durability is realized through the highly impermeable deck slab that protects the girders from moisture. Results show that the system can span up to 30 m while achieving span-to-depth ratios equivalent or better than competing slab-on-girder bridges.

This thesis examines the development of a superstructure for a slab-on-girder wood-concrete composite highway bridge. Wood-concrete composite bridges have existed since the 1930's. Historically, they have been limited to spans of less than 10 m. Renewed research interest over the past two decades has shown great potential for longer span capabilities. Through composite action and suitable detailing, improvements in strength, stiffness, and durability can be achieved versus conventional wood bridges. The bridge makes use of a slender ultra-high performance fibre-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) deck made partially-composite in longitudinal bending with glued-laminated wood girders. Longitudinal external unbonded post-tensioning is utilized to increase span capabilities. Prefabrication using double-T modules minimizes the need for cast-in-place concrete on-site. Durability is realized through the highly impermeable deck slab that protects the girders from moisture. Results show that the system can span up to 30 m while achieving span-to-depth ratios equivalent or better than competing slab-on-girder bridges.

Em geral, as formulações disponíveis na literatura para a análise de cascas laminadas reforçadas com fibras substituem o meio original heterogêneo por um homogêneo equivalente, que dificulta a identificação das tensões fibra-matriz, ou requerem que a malha de elementos finitos seja disposta de modo que os nós dos elementos finitos de fibra coincidam com os nós dos elementos finitos de casca, que é uma exigência bastante restritiva e que aumenta o número de graus de liberdade do sistema de equações resultante. Neste sentido, o objetivo geral desta tese consiste em desenvolver uma formulação para a inclusão de fibras longas e curtas aleatórias nas diversas lâminas de cascas laminadas anisotrópicas com não linearidade geométrica utilizando o método dos elementos finitos sem aumentar o número de graus de liberdade do sistema de equações resultante e sem a necessidade de coincidência de nós na discretização das fibras e da matriz. Nesta formulação, o elemento finito triangular de casca laminada utilizado para discretizar a matriz possui dez nós e sete graus de liberdade por nó, sendo três translações, três componentes do vetor generalizado e a taxa de variação linear da deformação ao longo da espessura. As fibras curvas, curtas aleatórias ou longas, são introduzidas, em qualquer camada do laminado, por meio de relações cinemáticas que garantem sua aderência à matriz sem a introdução de novos graus de liberdade no sistema de equações resultante. Para discretizá-las são utilizados elementos finitos unidimensionais de ordem qualquer com três graus de liberdade por nó e que consideram consistentemente a não linearidade geométrica. Todas as grandezas envolvidas são escritas em relação à configuração inicial do corpo, caracterizando a descrição Lagrangeana total ou material do movimento. Para modelar o comportamento do material adota-se a Lei Constitutiva de Saint-Venant-Kirchhoff que relaciona de forma linear o tensor de tensões de Piolla-Kirchhoff de segunda espécie e o tensor de deformações de Green-Lagrange. O equilíbrio é encontrado a partir do Princípio da Mínima Energia Potencial Total e o sistema não linear de equações resultante é resolvido utilizando-se o procedimento iterativo de Newton-Raphson. As ações externas podem ser introduzidas ao sistema de forma total ou incremental e a contribuição das fibras para a energia do sistema é adicionada na matriz global do problema. Os exemplos numéricos testados validam e demonstram as potencialidades da formulação proposta. / In general, the Finite Element (FE) formulations available in the literature for the analysis of fibre reinforced laminated shells replace the original heterogeneous medium by an equivalent homogeneous one, which makes difficult the identification of fiber-matrix stress distribution, or require that the finite element mesh is arranged in a way that the fibre finite element nodes coincide with the shell finite element ones, which is a very restrictive requirement and increases the number of degrees of freedom of the resulting system of equations. In this sense, the objective of this thesis is to develop a formulation for the inclusion of long and random short fibres in any layer of FE laminated anisotropic shells developing large displacement and rotations without increasing the number of degrees of freedom and the necessity of matching nodes in the discretization of the fibre and the matrix. In this formulation, the triangular laminated shell finite element used to discretize the matrix has ten nodes and seven degrees of freedom per node, that are, three translations, three components of a generalized vector and the linear rate of strain variation along the thickness. The curved fibres, long or random short, are introduced in any layer of the laminate shell by means of kinematic relation to ensure its adherence to the matrix without introducing new degrees of freedom in the resulting system of equations. To discretize them, any order one-dimensional finite elements with three degrees of freedom per node are used. These fibres elements are consistently considered by Geometric nonlinearity. All involved variables are written with respect to the initial configuration of the body, characterizing the Total Lagrangian description. To model the behavior of the material we use the Saint-VenantKirchhoff Constitutive Law that relates linearly the second Piolla-Kirchhoff stress tensor and Green-Lagrange strain tensor. The equilibrium is achieved from the Principle of Minimum Potential Energy and the non-linear system of equations is solved by the Newton-Raphson iterative procedure. External loads may be introduced to the system by one or various steps and the contribution of fibres to the energy of the system is added to the global matrix of the problem. The numerical examples validate and demonstrate the potential of the proposed formulation.

Devido à fragilidade do concreto, o controle e combate da fissuração são de importância fundamental em estruturas de concreto armado. Uma maneira de melhorar as propriedades do concreto à tração é pelo emprego de fibras. A presente pesquisa é uma tentativa de fornecer diretrizes para o dimensionamento de estruturas de concreto armado com fibras, e armadura convencional sob condições de serviço. Apresenta-se inicialmente, um estudo do comportamento do material à tração. Um modelo probabilístico/micro-mecânico fundamentado na mecânica de fratura, e capaz de prever o comportamento pós-fissuração do compósito é apresentado. O modelo prevê a relação tensão-abertura de fissura do compósito levando em conta os seguintes micro-mecanismos: travejamento de agregado e fibras, a ruptura das fibras, os efeitos de: atrito local (snubbing effect), esmagamento da matriz, Cook-Gordon, e da pré-tração das fibras. Em nível estrutural, dois modelos macro-mecânicos são apresentados. O primeiro modelo tem premissa na teoria clássica de fissura, e o segundo na mecânica de dado. O primeiro modelo é ajustado para aplicação na previsão de espaçamento e aberturas de fissura em estruturas de concreto armado com fibras discretas e aleatoriamente dispostas. É demostrado que o modelo micro-mecânico pode alimentar perfeitamente o modelo macro-mecânico. Ensaios de tração com elementos de placas de argamassa com fibras armada com tela ou fios foram realizados. Os resultados teóricos previstos pelo modelo foram comparados com os obtidos do programa experimental, e mostram uma boa concordância, comprovando a validade do modelo apresentado. / Due to the brittleness of concrete, the control and prevention of cracking in reinforced concrete structures are of prime importance. One way of improving the tensile properties of concrete is by the addition of fibres. The present research is a trial to provide guidelines for the design of fibre reinforced concrete structures under service loads. First of all, a study of the tensile behaviour of the composite material is presented. A probabilistic/fracture mechanics based micromechanical model, capable of predicting the poscracking behaviour of the material is presented. The model predicts the tensile stress-crack width relationship, accounting for the following micromechanisms: fibre and aggregate bridging, fibre rupture, local snubbing, matrix spalling, the Cook-Gordon interface effect, and fibre prestressing. At the structural level, two macromechanical models are presented. One is founded on the classical theory of cracking, while the other, a shear lag model, is founded on the continuum damage mechanics. The first model is adjusted for application to the prevision of crack width and crack spacing in fibre reinforced concrete structures with short discrete and randomly dispersed fibres. It is shown that the micromechanical model fits very well in the macrostructural model. Tensile tests with mortar specimens reinforced with continuous steel wires or meshes and PVA or polypropylene fibres were carried out. The theoretical results predicted by the model were compared with results obtained from the experimental program, and show very good agreement, confirming the validity of the theoretical model.

The search and research for high performance materials for aerospace applications is a continuous evolving process. Among several fibre reinforced polymers, carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) is well known for its high specific stiffness and strength. Though high modulus and high strength carbon fibre with structural resin systems have currently been established reasonably well and are catering to a wide variety of aerospace structural applications, these properties are generally directional with very high properties along the fibre direction dominated by fibres and low in other directions depending mainly on the resin properties. Thus, there is a need to enhance the mechanical properties of the resin systems for better load transfer and to improve the resin dominated properties like shear strength and properties in directions other than along the fibre. Use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with their extraordinary specific stiffness and strength apparently has great potential as an additional reinforcement in resin for development of CNT-CFRP nanocomposites. However, there are several issues that need to be addressed such as compatibility of a particular resin with CNTs, amount of CNTs that can be added, uniform dispersion of these nanotubes, surface treatment and curing process etc., for optimal enhancement of the required properties. Epoxy and cyanate ester resin systems are finding applications in aerospace structures owing to their desirable set of properties. Of these, bisphenol E cyanate ester (BECy) resin of low viscosity with its low moisture absorption, better dimensional stability, and superior mechanical properties can establish itself as potential structural resin system for these applications. BECy in particular has the advantage of being more suitable for out of autoclave manufacturing process such as Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM). Literature shows that, significant work has been carried out by various researchers reporting improvements using CNTs in epoxy resins along with various associated problems. However, studies on effects of addition of CNTs /fCNTs to BECy-CFRP composite system are not well reported. Thus, objective of this work is to study the effects of adding pristine and functionalized CNTs to low viscosity cyanate ester as well as epoxy resin systems. Further, to study the effects on mechanical properties of nanocomposites with carbon fibre reinforcement in these CNT dispersed resin system through a combination of experimental and computational approaches. Multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) without and with different chemical functionalization are chosen to be added to epoxy and BECy resins. The quantity of these CNTs /fCNTs is varied in steps up to 1% by weight. Different methods of mixing such as shear mixing, ultrasonication and combined mixing cycles are implemented to achieve uniform dispersion of these nanotubes in the resin system. Standard test samples are prepared from these mixtures of nanotubes in resin systems to study the variation in mechanical properties. Further, these nanotubes added resin systems are used in fabricating CFRP laminates by VARTM process. Both uni-directional and bi-directional laminates are made with the above modified resin systems with CNTs/fCNTs. Series of experimental investigations are carried out to study various aspects involved in making of nanocomposites and the effects of the same on different mechanical properties of the nanocomposites. Standard specimens are cut out from these laminates to evaluate them for tension, compression, flexure, shear and interlaminar shear strength. The main parameters investigated are the effects of varied quantity of CNTs and functionalized CNTs in the resin mix and in CFRP nanocomposites, effect of different mixing / curing cycles etc. on the mechanical properties of the nanocomposites. The investigations have yielded very interesting and encouraging results to arrive at optimum quantity of CNTs to be added and also the effects of functionalization to achieve enhanced mechanical properties. In addition, correlation of mechanical property enhancements with failure mechanisms, dispersion behaviour and participation of CNTs / fCNTs in load transfer are explained with the aid of scanning electron microscope images. Computational studies are carried out through atomistic models using computational tools to estimate the mechanical properties, understand and validate the effects of various parameters studied through series of experimental investigations. An atomistic model is built taking into consideration the nanoscale effects of the single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and its reinforcement in the BECy resin. Using these atomistic models, mechanical properties of individual SWCNT, BECy polymer resin, polymer with different quantities of added SWCNT, and the CFRP laminates with improved resin are computed. As the interaction of CNT with the polymer is only at the outermost layer and the mechanical properties of either MWCNTs or SWCNTs are too high compared to resin systems, it is not expected to have any difference in the final outcome whether it is MWCNT or SWCNT. Hence, only SWCNTs are considered in computational studies as it helps in reducing the complexity of atomistic models and computational time when coupled with polymer resin. This is valid even for functionalized CNT as functionalization is also a surface phenomenon. To start with, the mechanical behaviour of SWCNT is studied using molecular mechanics approach. Molecular mechanics based finite element analysis is adopted to evaluate the mechanical properties of armchair, zigzag and chiral SWCNT of different diameters. Three different types of atomic bonds, i.e., carbon-carbon covalent bond and two types of carbon-carbon van der Waals bonds are considered in the carbon nanotube system. The stiffness values of these bonds are calculated using the molecular potentials, namely Morse potential function and Lennard-Jones interaction potential function respectively and these stiffness values are assigned to spring elements in the finite element model of the SWCNT. The importance of inclusion of Lennard-Jones interactions is highlighted in this study. Effect of these non-bonded interactions is studied by making the numerical stiffness of these bonds to negligible levels and found that they significantly reduce the mechanical properties. The effect of non-bonded Lennard-Jones atomic interactions (van der Waal interactions) considered here is a novelty in this work which has not been considered in previous research works. The finite element model of the SWCNT is constructed, appropriate boundary conditions are applied and the behaviour of mechanical properties of SWCNT is studied. It is found that the longitudinal tensile strength and maximum tensile strain of armchair SWCNTs is greater than that of zigzag and chiral SWCNTs and its value increases with increasing SWCNT diameter. The estimated values of the mechanical properties obtained agree well with the published literature data determined using other techniques. As the systems become more complicated with the inclusion of polymers, molecular dynamics (MD) method using well established codes is more adoptable to study the effect of SWCNTs on BECy. Hence, it is used to model and solve the nanosystems to generate their stress-strain behavior. Further, MD approach followed here can effectively include interfacial interaction between polymer and the CNTs as well. Mechanical properties of SWCNT functionalized SWCNT (fSWCNT), pure BECy resin and that of the CNT nanocomposite consisting of specific quantity of SWCNT / fSWCNT in BECy are estimated using MD method. Atomistic models of SWCNT, fSWCNT, BECy, BECy with specific quantities of CNT / fSWCNT are constructed. A monomer of BECy is modelled and stabilized before its usage as a building block for modelling of BECy resin and to compute its properties. A cell of specific size containing monomers of BECy and another cell of same size with SWCNT at centre surrounded by BECy monomer molecules are built. The appropriate quantity of SWCNT in resin is modelled. This model captures the required density of the composite resin. The models so constructed are subjected to geometric optimization satisfying the convergence criteria and equilibrated through molecular dynamics to obtain a stable structure. The minimized structure is subjected to small strain in different directions to calculate the Young’s modulus and other moduli of the CNT-BECy resin composite. The process is repeated for different quantities of SWCNT in BECy resin to obtain their moduli. Further, tensile and shear strengths of CNT-BECy are obtained by subjecting the equilibrated structure to a series of applied strains from 0 to 10% in steps of 1%. The stress values corresponding to each strain are obtained and a stress – strain curve is plotted. From the stress- strain curve, the strengths of the CNT -BECy which is the stress corresponding to the modulus after which the material starts to soften are determined. Effects of functionalization on mechanical properties of SWCNT are observed. Further, effects of functionalization of SWCNT are studied with a specific quantity of fSWCNT on different moduli and strengths of BECy are investigated. The properties of enhanced CNT–BECy nanocomposite resin with different quantities of added CNT obtained through MD are used to estimate the mechanical properties of the CNT-BECy-CFRP nanocomposite using micromechanics model. Further, validation with experimental results is attempted comparing the trends in enhancement of properties of the CNT-BECy resin and CNT-BECy-CFRP nanocomposite system. The outcome of this research work has been significantly positive in terms of i) Development of an appropriate process establishing different parameters for dispersing CNTs in the resin system, mixing, curing cycle for making of nanocomposites demonstrating significant and consistent enhancement of mechanical properties of BECy based resin system and CFRP nanocomposites using optimum quantity of CNTs /fCNTs through a series of well planned and executed experimental investigations. Evaluation of mechanical properties for each of the cases has been carried out experimentally. ii) Establishing a computational methodology involving intricate atomistic modelling and molecular dynamics of nanosystems for estimation of mechanical properties of BECy polymer resin and to study the effects by addition of SWCNT / functionalized SWCNT on the properties. Results obtained through series of experimental investigations have been validated through this computational study. This could be an important step towards realising the potential of this resin system for high performance aerospace applications. Thus, in brief, detailed experimental work combined with computational studies performed as presented in this thesis resulted in achieving structurally efficient cyanate ester based nanocomposites which is unique and not reported in open literature.