Research and development for environmentally conscious smart composites

Advanced composite materials (ACMs) such as carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) have a high specific strength, rigidity and the advantage of being able to be designed to meet specific requirements. ACMs have been extensively developed and applied to a wide range of industrial fields including aeronautics and astronautics, ships, vehicles, civil engineering and architecture, sports and recreational articles. Off-setting these various advantages, ACMs also have detrimental effects which may be harmful to the global ecological system after the end of the product life. A recent trend of research and development of composites, the so-called SPAGHETTI syndrome, tends to add more functions to ACM, consequently making constituent materials more diversified and complicated. Some experts point out that, under present circumstances, this may produce more man-made garbage which is hard to incinerate or recycle and finally result in devastation of the ecological system. This paper places special emphasis on original composites compatible with the requirements for recycling as a design prerequisite. A concept of environmentally conscious, smart composite materials which are able to satisfy various functional requirements and impose fewer hazards for the global environmental system is introduced.