In a collaborative effort between researchers from the Departments of Chemical Engineering and Civil and Enviromnental Engineering at the University of Delaware, work in underway to develop an all-natural composite material roof system for residential construction. The roof will be fabricated using innovative composite materials made from soy-oil based resins and all-natural fibers. The all-natural composites are significantly less expensive than traditional polymer-based composites and are enviromentally friendly. The composite resin is derived from soy-oil, a plentiful, renewable crop, and the fibers are by-products or waste from other seasonal crops. The research will involve design and optimization of the composite material for the roof, development of an integral weather protection layer for the roof, and structural design, analysis and testing of the roof system. The preliminary design of the roof is a sandwich structure configuration, with top and bottom face sheets, periodically spaced webs, and a foam core. Tests are currently underway of the first unit beam section of the roof.
