Within EPFL-Rivages project, processing optimization of composite materials.

During a trip around the world, a sailboat is subjected to wildly varying sea and wind conditions. The boat must be designed in order to exploit the full potential of these extreme weather conditions. But one must also be able to count on the structures’ resistance in gale force winds and waves. To achieve this crucial balance, it’s essential to optimize the materials used. Research on fabrication and assembly processes is thus indispensable, from the microscopic scale up to the global structure of the boat.

Optimization of materials and fabrication processes: This assemblage is called a “composite sandwich” because of the way in which the various materials are combined. The sandwich is made up of a thick foam or honeycomb core surrounded by very thin layers of reinforced carbon. The manufacturing process involves several steps. Even the tiniest imperfection can lead to a catastrophic break in the component.

EPFL’s Laboratory of Composite and Polymer Technology (LTC) has, over several years, developed considerable expertise in this area. It collaborated closely with the Decision SA shipyard to apply these advances to Bernard Stamm’s sailboat. This collaboration allows Bernard Stamm’s team together with their colleagues at Juan Yacht Design to form the sailboat’s structures so as to conform as closely as possible to the actual constraints that it will encounter.