Researchers are constructing test panels of fiber-reinforced-polymer honeycomb (FRPH), instrumented with strain gauges and acoustic sensors for conducting non-destructive evaluation (NDE) acoustic emission (AE) and physical load testing. FRPH structural elements are high-strength, lightweight, corrosion-resistant, tough, and resilient; they can be machine-manufactured using a high-volume, continuous process. FRPH structural systems have the potential for achieving significant cost, labor, and weight reductions in marine structures and have the capability of being thoroughly instrumented for evaluation and monitoring. During testing, failures will be induced to determine the utility of AE techniques for studying FRPH failure modes, failure sequence, failure monitoring, and incipient failure onset. Successful test results will be a significant factor toward qualifying FRPH structural elements as accepted and economically competitive structural-engineering ingredients for use in marine structures and for land-based structural applications.The potential commercial application as described by the awardee: Research will result in the use of FRPH structural elements in commercial marine structures: initially in entry-market areas such as marinas, piers, barges, structural bulkheads, and deckhouses; and eventually for retrofitting external protective hulls to existing oil tankers and for constructing entire ships, floating industrial facilities, and floating cities. Other likely commercial applications include flat or parabolic solar-energy collectors, container systems, lightweight railway coal cars, barrier walls for landfills, dikes, highway bridge decks, shell domes, roofs, and portable buildings.
