New-material hybrid structures 新材料组合结构

The development and application of new structural materials are a major driving force for technological advances in civil engineering. A new structural material is often very strong in some of its properties, but relatively weak in its other properties. Therefore, in the exploitation of a new structural material in civil engineering, it is often necessary to combine it in an optimal manner with other structural materials, including both traditional and new materials, to deliver excellent structural performance. Compared with traditional steel-concrete composite structures, composite structures enabled by new materials (referred to as new-material hybrid structures) are capable of delivering superior structural performance as a result of greater freedom in material choices. Therefore, new-material hybrid structures offer many possibilities for innovations and advances in structural engineering. This paper introduces five innovative forms of new-material hybrid structures developed by the author’s research group and reviews briefly some of the research work conducted on them so far, with a view to illustrating the advantages of new-material hybrid structures to stimulate further development in the area.