In recent years, due to growing environmental awareness, considerable attention has been given to the development and production of natural fibre reinforced polymer (both thermoset and thermoplastic) composites. The main objective of this study was to reinforce epoxy and polylactic acid (PLA) with hemp fibre to produce improved composites by optimising the fibre treatment methods, composite processing methods, and fibre/matrix interfacial bonding. An investigation was conducted to obtain a suitable fibre alkali treatment method to: (i) remove non-cellulosic fibre components such as lignin (sensitive to ultra violet (UV) radiation) and hemicelluloses (sensitive to moisture) to improve long term composites stability (ii) roughen fibre surface to obtain mechanical interlocking with matrices (iii)expose cellulose hydroxyl groups to obtain hydrogen and covalent bonding with matrices (iv) separate the fibres from their fibre bundles to make the fibre surface available for bonding with matrices (v) retain tensile strength by keeping fibre damage to a minimum level and (vi) increase crystalline cellulose by better packing of cellulose chains to enhance the thermal stability of the fibres. An empirical model was developed for fibre tensile strength (TS) obtained with different treatment conditions (different sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium sulphite (Na2SO3) concentrations, treatment temperatures, and digestion times) by a partial factorial design. Upon analysis of the alkali fibre treatments by single fibre tensile testing (SFTT), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), zeta potential measurements, differential thermal analysis/thermogravimetric analysis (DTA/TGA), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXRD), lignin analysis and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, a treatment consisting of 5 wt% NaOH and 2 wt% Na2SO3 concentrations, with a treatment temperature of 120oC and a digestion time of 60 minutes, was found to give the best combination of the required properties. This alkali treatment produced fibres with an average TS and Young's modulus (YM) of 463 MPa and 33 GPa respectively. The fibres obtained with the optimised alkali treatment were further treated with acetic anhydride and phenyltrimethoxy silane. However, acetylated and silane treated fibres were not found to give overall performance improvement. Cure kinetics of the neat epoxy (NE) and 40 wt% untreated fibre/epoxy (UTFE) composites were studied and it was found that the addition of fibres into epoxy resin increased the reaction rate and decreased the curing time. An increase in the nucleophilic activity of the amine groups in the presence of fibres is believed to have increased the reaction rate of the fibre/epoxy resin system and hence reduced the activation energies compared to NE. The highest interfacial shear strength (IFSS) value for alkali treated fibre/epoxy (ATFE) samples was 5.2 MPa which was larger than the highest value of 2.7 MPa for UTFE samples supporting that there was a stronger interface between alkali treated fibre and epoxy resin. The best fibre/epoxy bonding was found for an epoxy to curing agent ratio of 1:1 (E1C1) followed by epoxy to curing agent ratios of 1:1.2 (E1C1.2), 1: 0.8 (E1C0.8), and finally for 1:0.6 (E1C0.6). Long and short fibre reinforced epoxy composites were produced with various processing conditions using vacuum bag and compression moulding. A 65 wt% untreated long fibre/epoxy (UTLFE) composite produced by compression moulding at 70oC with a TS of 165 MPa, YM of 17 GPa, flexural strength of 180 MPa, flexural modulus of 10.1 GPa, impact energy (IE) of 14.5 kJ/m2, and fracture toughness (KIc) of 5 MPa.m1/2 was found to be the best in contrast to the trend of increased IFSS for ATFE samples. This is considered to be due to stress concentration as a result of increased fibre/fibre contact with the increased fibre content in the ATFE composites compared to the UTFE composites. Hygrothermal ageing of 65 wt% untreated and alkali treated long and short fibre/epoxy composites (produced by curing at 70oC) showed that long fibre/epoxy composites were more resistant than short fibre/epoxy composites and ATFE composites were more resistant than UTFE composites towards hygrothermal ageing environments as revealed from diffusion coefficients and tensile, flexural, impact, fracture toughness, SEM, TGA, and WAXRD test results. Accelerated ageing of 65 wt% UTLFE and alkali treated long fibre/epoxy (ATLFE) composites (produced by curing at 70oC) showed that ATLFE composites were more resistant than UTLFE composites towards hygrothermal ageing environments as revealed from tensile, flexural, impact, KIc, SEM, TGA, WAXRD, FTIR test results. IFSS obtained with untreated fibre/PLA (UFPLA) and alkali treated fibre/PLA (ATPLA) samples showed that ATPLA samples had greater IFSS than that of UFPLA samples. The increase in the formation of hydrogen bonding and mechanical interlocking of the alkali treated fibres with PLA could be responsible for the increased IFSS for ATPLA system compared to UFPLA system. Long and short fibre reinforced PLA composites were also produced with various processing conditions using compression moulding. A 32 wt% alkali treated long fibre PLA composite produced by film stacking with a TS of 83 MPa, YM of 11 GPa, flexural strength of 143 MPa, flexural modulus of 6.5 GPa, IE of 9 kJ/m2, and KIc of 3 MPa.m1/2 was found to be the best. This could be due to the better bonding of the alkali treated fibres with PLA. The mechanical properties of this composite have been found to be the best compared to the available literature. Hygrothermal and accelerated ageing of 32 wt% untreated and alkali treated long fibre/PLA composites ATPLA composites were more resistant than UFPLA composites towards hygrothermal and accelerated ageing environments as revealed from diffusion coefficients and tensile, flexural, impact, KIc, SEM, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), WAXRD, and FTIR results. Increased potential hydrogen bond formation and mechanical interlocking of the alkali treated fibres with PLA could be responsible for the increased resistance of the ATPLA composites. Based on the present study, it can be said that the performance of natural fibre composites largely depend on fibre properties (e.g. length and orientation), matrix properties (e.g. cure kinetics and crystallinity), fibre treatment and processing methods, and composite processing methods.

This diploma thesis solves the problems of hydrothermal processes in walls of wooden houses and associated issues. A chosen were two apartment buildings, where they underwent exmerimental measurement of indor air, in order to determine the boundary conditions commonly boundary building evelope. Was followed by hygrothermal analysis of four commonly used constructions of wooden buildings in the Czech Republic, using various numerical methods. The quantity of information obtained from various numerical methods were analyzed individually. The final part of the thesis is devoted to experimental measurements of diffusion properties of materials. Namely foil vapor barrier, in terms of its influence on the perforation vapor diffusion resistance factor. Information obtained from the experiments were applied to re numerical analysis for walls with a foil vapor barrier. Followed by comparing both cases, in terms of changes hygrothermal behavior of structures with influence of perforation of the vapor barrier.

Leichtbau zählt als eines der Zukunftstechnologien des 21. Jahrhunderts, um sowohl die Mobilitätsfragen von morgen zu beantworten als auch die klima- und energiepolitischen Ziele zu erreichen. Ein wesentlicher Fokus wird dabei auf Multi-Material-Systeme gelegt. Insbesondere die Kombination von faserverstärkten Kunststoffen und metallischen Legierungen zu sog. hybriden Laminaten zeigt ein hohes Substitutions- und Leichtbaupotential gegenüber klassischen monolithischen Konstruktionswerkstoffen. Vorrangig werden derartige hybride Schichtverbunde mit einer duroplastischen Matrix hergestellt, wodurch allerdings Restriktionen, bspw. gegenüber Produktivität, Recycling- und Lagerfähigkeit, resultieren. Eine besondere Alternative dazu bieten hybride Laminate auf Thermoplastbasis. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurden die am Bundesexzellenzcluster MERGE entwickelten neuartigen thermoplastbasierten Schichtverbunde Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Polyamid/Aluminium Laminate (CAPAAL®) und Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Thermoplastic Polyurethane/Aluminium Laminate (CATPUAL) erforscht und im optimierten variothermen Pressprozess hergestellt. Um die Werkstoffverbunde über die Grundlagenforschung hinaus, etwa in der industriellen Nutzung, zu etablieren, wurden umfangreiche Charakterisierungen und Fertigungsstudien durchgeführt. Zum einen erfolgten mikrostrukturell-analytische Untersuchungen u. a. zu der Imprägniergüte, der Oberflächenbehandlung der Aluminiumlegierung und des Versagensverhaltens. Zum anderen fanden mechanisch-technologische Charakterisierungen bezüglich quasi-statischer Versuche unter Zug- und Biegebelastung sowie Ermüdungsversuche unter Biegebelastung im Niedrig-Frequenzbereich statt. Die quasi-statischen Untersuchungen der Subkomponenten (Aluminiumlegierung, Verbundwerkstoff) und der hybriden Laminate wurden sowohl unter Raumtemperatur als auch unter definierten Temperaturbelastungen und Konditionierungszuständen durchgeführt, um deren Sensitivität zu analysieren sowie zu bewerten. Ebenfalls erfolgten analytische Berechnungen zur Auslegung der hybriden Schichtverbunde basierend auf der klassischen Laminattheorie und der Mischungsregel unter Einbeziehung des Metallvolumengehalts. Darüber hinaus wurden die thermisch induzierten Eigenspannungen analytisch ermittelt und in die Berechnungen der quasi-statischen Kennwerte inkludiert. Anhand der Untersuchungen konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass CAPAAL® und CATPUAL als „maßgeschneiderte“ Halbzeuge oder Strukturbauteile mit einem hohen Leichtbaupotential für großseriennahe Anwendungen prädestiniert sind. Diese weisen in Abhängigkeit der medialen Belastungen eine höhere Performance und ein weniger katastrophales Versagensverhalten als die entsprechenden Faser-Kunststoff-Verbunde auf. Zudem wurde konstatiert, dass eine hervorragende Ermüdungsfestigkeit unter Biegebelastung vorliegt. Die theoretischen Vorhersagen weisen vor allem über den Ansatz der Mischungsregel eine gute Korrelation zu den experimentell ermittelten Kennwerten auf.:1 Einleitung 2 Stand der Wissenschaft und Technik 3 Materialien und experimentelle Untersuchungen 4 Versuchsergebnisse und Diskussion 5 Bewertung der erzielten Ergebnisse 6 Ausgewählte Leichtbaulösungen 7 Zusammenfassung und Ausblick / Lightweight construction is considered one of the future technologies of the 21st century, both to answer tomorrow's mobility questions and to achieve climate and energy policy goals. A major focus is placed on multi-material systems. In particular, the combination of fibre-reinforced plastics and metal alloys to form so-called hybrid laminates shows a high substitution and lightweight construction potential compared to classic monolithic construction materials. Such hybrid laminates are primarily produced with a thermoset matrix, which results in restrictions, e. g. with regard to productivity, recyclability and storability. Hybrid laminates based on thermoplastics offer a special alternative. In the context of this work, the novel thermoplastic-based laminates Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Polyamid/Aluminium Laminate (CAPAAL®) and Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Thermoplastic Polyurethane/Aluminium Laminate (CATPUAL) were researched and produced in an optimised vario-heat pressing process. In order to establish the material composites beyond basic research, for example in industrial use, extensive characterization and manufacturing studies were carried out. On the one hand, microstructural-analytical characterisations were conducted, for example, on the impregnation quality, the surface treatment of the aluminium alloy and the failure behaviour. On the other hand, mechanical-technological investigations were carried out with regard to quasi-static tests under tensile and bending load as well as fatigue tests under bending load in the low-frequency range. The quasi-static tests of the subcomponents (aluminium alloy, composite material) and hybrid laminates were carried out both at room temperature and under defined temperature loads and conditioning conditions in order to analyse and evaluate their sensitivity. Analytical calculations for the design of the hybrid laminates based on the classical laminate theory and the rule of mixtures including the metal volume content were also considered. Furthermore, the thermally induced residual stresses were determined analytically and included in the calculations of the quasi-static characteristic values. Based on the investigations, it was possible to prove that CAPAAL® and CATPUAL are predestined as 'tailor-made' semi-finished products or structural components with a high lightweight construction potential for applications close to large-scale production. Depending on the medial loads, these exhibit higher performance and less catastrophic failure behaviour than the corresponding fibre-plastic composites. In addition, it was stated that there is an excellent fatigue strength under bending load. The theoretical predictions show a good correlation to the experimentally determined characteristic values, especially via the rule of mixtures approach.:1 Einleitung 2 Stand der Wissenschaft und Technik 3 Materialien und experimentelle Untersuchungen 4 Versuchsergebnisse und Diskussion 5 Bewertung der erzielten Ergebnisse 6 Ausgewählte Leichtbaulösungen 7 Zusammenfassung und Ausblick