He / Him
PhD candidate
Project: Vitrimer Composites for Next Generation Aircraft Structures
LinkedIn joshua.ilse [at] mail.mcgill.ca (Mail) Publications
Supervisor: Prof Pascal Hubert
Have you ever thought of what happens to an airplane at its end-of-life? Composite materials are increasingly adopted in aerospace due to their high strength and low weight, however, there is an ugly truth behind their success: a majority of these composites are not recyclable, which leads to many aircraft components being destined for the landfill. Despite increasing legislation to drive sustainable change, composite sustainability remains unprioritized, focusing on developing performance first while sustainability remains an afterthought.
In my research, I am looking to tackle composite sustainability from the start by designing next-generation composite materials using vitrimer polymers which can enable complete recyclability at end-of-life. Vitrimers are a newer class of polymers that combine the properties of thermosets with thermoplastic reprocessability through the use of what’s known as “dynamic covalent bonds (DCBs)” (Figure 1), which are capable of being broken and reformed through the application/removal of heat.
Figure 1: General structure of vitrimer polymers. (Left) Structure of vitrimer network, where dynamic covalent bonds can be incorporated into the polymer backbone or crosslinks. (Right) Dynamic bond exchange, which is mediated by temperature (𝚫).
To make these vitrimers, I use pre-existing aerospace-grade thermoset resin systems and determine simple ways in in which they can be transformed into vitrimer materials. This allows one to leverage pre-existing composite manufacturing methods yet arrive at vitrimer composite products, streamlining their potential adoption by industry (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Thermoset/Vitrimer composite manufacturing via resin transfer moulding (RTM).
To better understand these thermoset-derived vitrimers, I first perform small-scale thermomechanical characterization techniques (DSC, TGA, Rheology) to understand their properties and behaviour. This then feeds into my work on vitrimer composite manufacturing, where I look to tune processing parameters to obtain high-quality vitrimer laminates. Finally, I then look at methods to recycle these vitrimer composites that enable the separation and reclamation of both fibre and matrix materials that can be used in subsequent composite manufacturing.
By performing this work, it is my hope to demonstrate the ease in which vitrimer polymers can be adopted by the composites industry, but furthermore how they unlock the potential for full circularity of composite products.