In December 2024, the r-LightBioCom project reached an important milestone by advancing its optimisation tool for composite materials. Project partner Coventry University developed the Alpha version of the Coupled Ecological Optimization tool, an innovative Multi-Objective Optimisation Framework that integrates ecological, economic, and structural parameters to optimise bio-based composite material products. With its holistic approach, the CEO tool has the potential to significantly reduce product design times and minimise the need for extensive mechanical testing, allowing for lower costs and faster implementation of new designs. Moreover, through consideration of mechanical properties, performance, sustainability and recyclability of the materials and products, it can help industries make smarter, greener, and more cost-effective composite material choices, paving the way for their practical implementation in the market.
Composite materials are vital to many industries, such as aerospace, automotive, and construction, due to their strength, lightweight properties, and versatility. However, traditional composites face challenges like high production costs, limited recyclability, and environmental concerns, making them less competitive than other materials such as metals and ceramics. The r-LightBioCom project addresses these challenges by developing bio-based, high-performance composite materials, alongside sustainable manufacturing and recycling methods, as well as advanced optimisation tools.
Advanced optimisation holds the potential to improve the competitiveness of bio-based composites by balancing performance, sustainability, and cost-efficiency. This makes advanced optimisation tools essential for ensuring their economic and environmental viability. However, optimising composite materials and components is a complex process, as countless combinations of fibres and resins must be evaluated to identify the best design solutions. To drive this progress, the development of innovative tools and frameworks is key for advancing the next generation of sustainable composite materials and products.
Coupled Ecological Optimization (CEO) framework
r-LightBioCom’s project partner Coventry University has successfully developed the Alpha version of the Coupled Ecological Optimization (CEO) tool which utilises basic input from a user to reduce a vast and complex optimisation solution space, creating a Pareto front[1]. This innovative framework balances ecological, economic, and structural factors using four integrated modules:
- Structural module: allows for detailed input of design components such as fibres, matrix, and geometry.
- Operational Cost module: users can input manufacturing costs, enabling the creation of a comprehensive cost structure for the design.
- Holistic Optimisation module: calculates carbon emissions and mechanical properties by considering fibre structure, manufacturing methods, and recycling techniques.
- Sustainability module: evaluates the lifecycle impacts by incorporating fibre structure, production processes, and recycling methods, providing a full assessment of sustainability.
These four modules are accessible through a user-friendly, Python-based graphical user interface, enabling users to input key parameters relating to the specific product they wish to optimise. Detailed analysis of material combinations, their environmental impacts, and associated costs, allows the Alpha version of the CEO to provide a Pareto front of solutions based on multi-objective optimization techniques, see figures below.
What sets the CEO framework apart?
The uniqueness of the CEO framework lies in its innovative approach to holistic optimisation, integrating structural, economic, and environmental considerations into a single, unified model. While most optimisation tools typically focus only on technical and mechanical properties alone, the CEO approach goes beyond this by incorporating sustainability factors and life cycle analyses. This comprehensive perspective ensures that products are optimised not only for structural integrity but also for ecological and economic sustainability, driving the development of sustainable composite materials and products.
The Alpha version of the CEO framework represents the first step in in this process, laying a foundation for optimising generic components. In the next project phase of the r-LightBioCom project, Coventry University will focus on developing a more advanced CEO (Beta). The Beta version will advance the Alpha version modules significantly expanding the CEO capabilities enabling higher degrees of problem complexity and results precision. The CEO (Beta) capabilities will be critically evaluated through specific use case applications within the r-LightBioCom project, enabling the analysis of thousands of material combinations to identify optimal composite solutions. These solutions will minimise costs and carbon emissions while meeting mechanical performance requirements, ensuring both sustainability and economic viability, and reducing design times and the need for extensive testing.
[1] The ‘Pareto front’ is a concept used when trying to optimize several goals that conflict with each other, as is the case in multi-objective optimization. It shows the set of best solutions where improving one goal would make another goal worse.
