Artificial neural networks (ANNs) constitute a class of flexible nonlinear models designed to mimic biological neural systems. In this entry, we introduce ANN using familiar econometric terminology and provide an overview of ANN modeling approach and its implementation methods. † Correspondence: Chung-Ming Kuan, Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, 128 Academia Road, Sec. 2, Taipei 115, Taiwan; ckuan@econ.sinica.edu.tw. †† I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the editor, Professor Steven Durlauf, for his patience and constructive comments on early drafts of this entry. I also thank Shih-Hsun Hsu and Yu-Lieh Huang for very helpful suggestions. The remaining errors are all mine.

Artificial neural networks

Composites have been found to be the most promising and discerning material available in this century. Presently, composites reinforced with fibers of synthetic or natural materials are gaining more importance as demands for lightweight materials with high strength for specific applications are growing in the market. Fiber-reinforced polymer composite offers not only high strength to weight ratio, but also reveals exceptional properties such as high durability; stiffness; damping property; flexural strength; and resistance to corrosion, wear, impact, and fire. These wide ranges of diverse features have led composite materials to find applications in mechanical, construction, aerospace, automobile, biomedical, marine, and many other manufacturing industries. Performance of composite materials predominantly depends on their constituent elements and manufacturing techniques, therefore, functional properties of various fibers available worldwide, their classifications, and the manufacturing techniques used to fabricate the composite materials need to be studied in order to figure out the optimized characteristic of the material for the desired application. An overview of a diverse range of fibers, their properties, functionality, classification, and various fiber composite manufacturing techniques is presented to discover the optimized fiber-reinforced composite material for significant applications. Their exceptional performance in the numerous fields of applications have made fiber-reinforced composite materials a promising alternative over solitary metals or alloys.

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Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites: Manufacturing, Properties, and Applications.

Metal additive manufacturing in aerospace: A review

Delamination formation, evaluation and suppression during drilling of composite laminates: A review

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are extensively used in advanced concrete technology given their superiority over traditional steel reinforcements. These materials possess high strength capacity and corrosion resistance and can be employed as the main reinforcements in combination with adhesives and anchorages to strengthen reinforced concrete (RC) beam members. RC beams are designed to provide resistance against flexure , shear, torsion, fatigue, impact, and blast loading. The strength and ductility of RC beams can be improved via FRP strengthening techniques with a combination of fibers. The overall strength of FRP composites in RC beams is controlled by fiber type , configuration, and materials and strengthening technique. This review focuses on the characteristics and behaviors of FRP-strengthened RC beams under various loading conditions. It also presents the typical FRP composites with the properties, features, and applications. This review demonstrates that FRP composites can be used to recover the strength of damaged and corroded beams and exhibit good durability and insulation performance. It also provides a straightforward perspective of strengthening and retrofitting techniques for RC beams using FRP composites.

Strengthening of reinforced concrete beams by using fiber-reinforced polymer composites: A review

A new method to reduce delaminations during drilling of FRP laminates by feed rate control

In process monitoring of cutting temperature during the drilling of FRP laminate

Polymeric composite parts are often manufactured with thin laminates and the manufacturer's recommended cure cycles are usually optimized for a less than 5 mm thickness. However, sometimes manufacturing thick laminates is necessary for structural applications: in this case, the manufacturer's cycle is not suitable as it can produce a peak of temperature in the laminate, which may compromise the structural integrity of the product. This work aims at quantifying both the magnitude of these peaks and its effect on the mechanical properties of the cured material through numerical and experimental tests. A decrease of the interlaminar shear strength with increasing temperature peak was found, while the duration of temperature peak did not influence the structural strength of the resin.

A new methodology to evaluate the influence of curing overheating on the mechanical properties of thick FRP laminates

During the curing process, the exothermic cross-linking reaction inside epoxy resin-based composites causes overheating and, eventually, a thermal degradation of the matrix. Thick sectioned epoxy composites require an optimized curing cycle in order to minimize the temperature raise inside the composite. However, the recommended cycle for thin laminates is often wrongly used also for thick sectioned composites, resulting in an overheating. In this work, the mechanical behaviour of laminates having different thicknesses was investigated. Specimens were cured according to a curing cycle optimal for thin laminates which causes overheating in thicker laminates. The curing temperature histories at several positions inside the laminates were monitored and recorded and, following a new methodological approach, a series of comparative interlaminar shear tests was performed. Experimental results show a decrease of the interlaminar shear strength in thicker laminates. A simple model to account for the detrimental effect of the exothermic peak on the interlaminar shear strength is proposed.

Costanzo Bellini

Papers

A new method to reduce delaminations during drilling of FRP laminates by feed rate control

In process monitoring of cutting temperature during the drilling of FRP laminate

A new methodology to evaluate the influence of curing overheating on the mechanical properties of thick FRP laminates

Effect of curing overheating on interlaminar shear strength and its modelling in thick FRP laminates

Manufacture of high performance isogrid structure by Robotic Filament Winding