At this stage of the design, a composite floating module is developed based on a series of assumptions that have to be clarified in order to guarantee for its efficiency. The designed composite material (GFRP+PET foam+PET bottles) needs to be tested through the production of 1:1 physical prototypes in terms of strength and stiffness. The performance of the module needs to be evaluated and consequently optimized, according to the results of the tests. Once the consistency of the composite structure is precisely defined and its structural properties and behavior are known, simulations have to be done using computational tools, to understand the performance of the floating platform as a whole.
Alongside the above mentioned research, it is important to investigate the possibility of switching from non-recyclable GPR polyester to indefinitely recyclable self reinforced PET resin, to form the shell of the floating modules. The ability of this thermoplastic composite material to perform structurally needs to be verified.
Starting with the prototype making, first, 3 study cases will be explored and compared on basis of their performance. According to the results, the next steps of the experiment will be defined.
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In addition to what we already discussed in class, I would advice to make preliminary tests even just with bottles while you are organizing the tests on the more developed prototypes. This is because, already from the behavior of wrapped bottles only, you might realize aspects that differently might be neglected. Looking forward to see you on Monday. On Monday, you might also present a plan to discuss the integration between the tests' results from the prototyped portion and the digital simulations on the whole platform (if this remains a goal). Nice work. Michela
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