Multi-scale uncertainty mapping in fibre-wound bio-composite structures.

Construction is a major resource-consuming and GHG-emitting sector requiring a change of practices to be aligned with climate goals. This transition is supported by the emergence of new materials and digital fabrication techniques as robotic filament winding of bio-based fibre-polymer composites (FPC). This recent technique allows for the efficient use of FPC by placing filaments where structurally needed, reducing fabrication waste and offering large design flexibility. Despite these benefits, applications of fibre-wound bio-composites (FW-BC) have been limited due to difficulties in proving safety of such structures. Past examples relied on iterative design processes, including full-scale testing of components, a major barrier to wider implementation. Probabilistic reliability assessments are a promising alternative but are challenging due to the complex interaction of parameters at the four composite levels and their associated uncertainties. Those are large for FW-BC due to the natural origin of the fibre and the large variability from the robotic fabrication. The present work proposes a strategy for characterising the uncertainties at each level and understanding their relations across levels as a starting point for a reliability assessment of fibre-wound structures.