A Technical Report should normally be written in the third person impersonal e.g. “It was observed that …” rather than “We saw …”.  The report should include the following sections:

• Title page
• Title, Student Registration Number (and Author Name only if not for anonymous marking), supervisor name, Affiliation (School/Faculty/University), purpose (e.g. submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for module XXXXnnn of the YYY degree).
• We are now the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics
  (not "Engineering", or "Marine Science and Engineering"), and
  the Faculty of Science and Engineering
  (not "and Environment" or "and Technology")
  and have reverted to "University of Plymouth" (always the legal entity),
  (not "Plymouth University" ~ a previous trading name).
• Introductory materials
• Use of Assistive Software (one definition!):
  do declare how you used any of the following or equivalent software
• Artificial Intellegence, e.g. ChatGPT, Perplexity
• AI can guide you to a solution … but do not trust it
• check the references are real papers … read the papers and paraphrase the text
• write your own version with confidence that your conclusions are OK?
• Grammarly (online grammar, spell checking and plagiarism detection platform)
• Speech to text software:
  Dragon Naturally Speaking, Alexa / Bixby / Siri, Office Dictate, Mac OS / iOS Dictation
• Text to speech software:
  ClaroRead, Firefox Reader View, Immersive Reader, iOS Speech and Read&Write, .
• Disclaimers (e.g. re-use of previously submitted material),
• Acknowledgements: thank people who gave you assistance, normally:
  Francis Rebbeck (BGB111) and Jeremy Clark (BGB 107-110) .
• Abstract: a short summary of the context, research question, results and conclusions.
• Contents: a list of the headings, in bold here, with each linked to the relevant page number.
• Nomenclature is the list of Abbreviations, Acronyms and Symbols used:
  normally in alphabetical order (English then Greek characters, upper case then lower case).
• List of Figures, with the relevant page number:
• "Figures" is used for all computer-generated images, graphs, line drawings, maps, photographs.
• Figures should be numbered consecutively.
• Each Figure should have a caption below the Figure
  (e.g. Figure x:  Picture of a composite component).
• Figures should always be linked from the text.
• List of Tables, with the relevant page number:
• Tables should be numbered consecutively
• Each Table should have a caption above the Table
  (e.g. Table y: Property vs fibre volume fraction) above the matrix.
• Tables should always be linked from the text.
• Notice of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA):
  normally only for commercially-supported projects, not routine coursework.
• Introduction
• the introduction should include a literature survey which starts broad, then each paragraph should move towards the specific topic of the study to be reported.  There may be multiple sections that address different aspects,
• once the context of the study has been established, the report should identify
• a single Aim clearly stating the "research question" (the topic of the study), then
• multiple separate objectives.
• Experimental methodology
• description of the materials used, including records of the fabric areal weight
• a record of the number of tows/m in warp and weft, and/or the areal weight of fibres in each direction for a multiaxial fabric, may be useful for unbalanced fabrics,
• description of the manufacturing procedures and conditions (temperature, pressure, humidity),
• test equipment with load cell, test speed, procedures (in brief in the main text, with detail in the Appendices) and conditions (as above) on the respective days,
• give details of any test standards followed, e.g.
• ISO14125 [1] (formalised version of CRAG 200 [2]) for three-point bend,
• ISO14130 [3] (formalised version of CRAG 100 [2]) for apparent interlaminar shear strength, and/or
• ISO19127 [4] for interlaminar modulus and shear strength.
• beware of high cross-head movement in ILSS tests: after about 1 .5 mm, the rig may compress the sample between the loading anvil and the supports.
• for calibrated equipment:
  calibration date, expiry date, test dates.
• software package, version, element type, mesh size, convergence,
• for finite element analysis, indicate
• the typical time to run the model on a specific computer,
• whether the element/s is/are rod (1D), shell (2D) or brick (3D), and how many nodes/element,
• the number of nodes and elements in the mesh,
• outcomes of convergence studies,
• how loading points (e.g. puple arrows) and restraints (e.g. green symbols) are indicated in diagrams.
• links to Appendices, including Risk Assessments and MSDS/COSHH analysis, detailed procedures, raw data, etc.,
• a useful image processing and analysis freeware package is ImageJ.
• Results
• Useful measurements and predictions
• the plate thickness recorded for test samples should be used to calculate the actual fibre volume fraction achieved (you might also triangulate the value using density method, burn-off, etc.).
• a multi-axial fabric is composed or more than one ply (e.g. tri-axial has three plies/lamina)
• cured ply thickness (total thickness/number of plies) may be a useful parameter, especially when manufacturers datasheets suggest a nominal value.
• are surface fibres perfectly aligned with the specimen edge:
  for a 10° misalignment, cos⁴θ gives a knock-down factor of 0.94.
• do the materials tested fully comply with the underlying assumptions in any model/equation used?
• can you identify fibre strengths that are meaningful for fibres that have been through textile processes (rather than for virgin fibres)?.
• predict the tensile modulus using rule-of-mixtures.
• [if the material has lamina with different orientations in the plane]
  predict the flexural modulus using sum of EI technique (lecture A1 slide 33), or laminate analysis software, where appropriate.
• predict the (lower bound for) strength using σ′_c = E_c ε′_c
  using the experimental average modulus for the plate,
  with an assumption that the failure strain when off-axis fibres debond is 0.20-0.25%.
  (a reference to support the debonding strain would be good).
  Varna et al [5] reported that UD glass/vinyl ester laminates with low void content had a transverse strain to failure at 0.3%.
• predict the (upper bound for) strength using the Kelly-Tyson equation for strength of UD composites assuming all off-axis fibres make no contribution to strength.
• if the maximum crimp angle in woven reinforcement is small, does the Potter correction for mild mis-alignment of off-axis fibres have potential to correct the estimated strength?
• a weighted average of Kelly-Tyson equation and Hart-Smith "Ten-Percent Rule"might be interesting?
• Apparent interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) graphs should be truncated at about 1 mm deflection.  There is normally a dip after the peak load, then a rising steepening curve when the sample is compressed between the loading anvils ~ do not take data from that part of the curve.
• Presentation
• Measurements should be reported in SI units.
• It is normal to limit the numbers to three (3) significant figures
  (e.g 13.1 or 260 rather than 13.0559 or 259.79 respectively) as longer numbers imply higher accuracy.
• NEVER use 1.48E+10 format for numbers in reports: for a modulus that would be 14.8 GPa.
• a graphical presentation is far clearer than a long-winded paragraph,
  e.g. composite initial and ultimate strength experimental values for two sets of data might be plotted ranked from lowest to highest, with horizontal lines indicating the predicted lower and upper bounds.
  
• Statistics
• statistical analysis in Excel might use either STDEVP (for the entire population) or STDEV (for a sample/sub-set of the population).
• the coefficient of variation (CoV = standard deviation (SD)/mean) is used to make comparisons of variation independent of the magnitude of the mean value.
• record the NOVO = Number Of Valid Observations and the NOTU = Number Of Tests Undertaken.
• Data tables
• enter mean values | indicative variation | coefficient of variation | NOVO/NOTU in a single cell of the Table, i.e. mean±standard_deviation (CoV%) x/y, e.g. 76.3±7.63 (10%) 4/5,
  with a link to the full data set in an Appendix,
  
• the number of decimal places in the reported SD should be the same as that for the quoted average value.
• where all tests undertaken have valid failure modes,
  state that in the Table caption then exclude NOVO/NOTU from the Table.
• never include a column/row in a Table where the data is constant.
• Discussion
• the opportunity to critically examine the data generated by the work undertaken and record observations, consider cross-correlations and indicate what may be appropriate future actions,
• an opportunity to consider how assumptions underlying the analysis are relevant (or not) to the work undertaken for the assignment.
• do the models/equations sensibly align with experimental values?
• rule-of-mixtures prediction of tensile modulus vs flexural modulus?
• does Kelly-Tyson prediction for strength, assuming off-axis fibres do not contribute,
  give a sensible ball-park estimate of the property?
• how do flexural moduli (Table 1) and strengths (Table 2) compare with their respective literature values

Table 1: Indicative flexural modulus and strength values from the literature

Fibre/resin	Flexural modulus (GPa)	Flexural strength (MPa)	Reference
QI NCF T700 carbon/polyester	22±1	201±11	Cecen et al, 2006 [6]
woven glass/polyester	30±1	314±8	Zhou and Davies, 1995 [7]
FW glass/epoxy	50±3	1654±64	Turla et al, 2014 [8]
UD T700 carbon/polyester	50±1	542±13	Cecen et al, 2006 [6]
PW T800 carbon/epoxy	54±2	952±53	Brocks et al, 2013 [9]
TW IM7 carbon/epoxy	60±3	884±42	Brocks et al, 2013 [9]
Key: FW = filament wound, NCF = non-crimp fabric, PW = plain weave, QI = quasi-isotropic, TW = twill weave.

• how do interlaminar shear strengths (ILSS) compare with their respective literature values

Table 2: Indicative apparent interlaminar shear strengths from the literature

Fibre/resin	ILSS (MPa)	Reference
glass/polyester	20	Ascione et al, 2019 [10].
glass/vinylester	25	Ascione et al, 2019 [10].
glass/epoxy	30	Ascione et al, 2019 [10].
glass/epoxy	19-39	Rath and Sahu, 2011 [11].
carbon/polyester	21.5	Cecen et al, 2006 [6].
carbon/epoxy	54-59	Nie et al, 2019 [12].

• does laminate analysis predict the composite properties?
• estimation of the uncertainty in measurement of mechanical properties [13].
• Conclusions
• no more than one page, or perhaps a maximum of ten bullet points,
• should only summarise what has already been discussed,
• may be substaintially the same as the abstract, but the conclusion will indicate what did happen while the abstract will indicate what will happen.
• Recommendations for Further Work
• References
• The papers cited in the report should be listed in alphabetical (Harvard system) or numerical (if indicated as such in the body text) order at the end of the Report.
• When citing papers in the text simply use A (single author), A and B (two authors), or A et al. (more than two authors) where A or B are the respective author surnames.
• The complete list of authors should be included in the reference list.
• Just before final submission of your report, check that "in press/accepted publications" have not advanced since you first became aware of the paper.
• Appendices
• Individual sections containing supporting data for the reader who wishes to delve more deeply.  Appendices might be detailed experimental methodologies and/or Tables of data used to calculate the values in summary tables in the body of the report and/or Risk Assessments/Gantt charts etc.
• Risk Assessments might include design issues, manufacturing processes, testing (e.g. trapped by moving crosshead, or splinters flying off sample at fracture), and commercial/environmental considerations.

There may be instances where a more narrative format is appropriate, especially where the reported project follows an interative development of a product or process.

Appendices, Equations, Figures and Tables should have an initial capital letter every time, and should always be referenced from the text using e.g. Appendix p, Equation r, Fig. x or Table y (where p, r, x and y are numbers).  Appendices, Figures and Tables (but not Equations) should always have a meaningful caption/title.  Avoid "positioning words" (e.g. "above" or "below" or "following") as the numbering of the respective features provides sufficient clue!

When using material from another source (e.g. rows of the risk.htm health and saftety table) ALWAYS include clues as to the source in the Figure/Table caption.  Failure to cite the source could be interpreted as the academic offence of plagiarism!  If something is copied in full, this is especially important! Good practice would also include the reference in the text as well as the caption.

Where data is used in the calculation of the derived parameter (e.g. length, width and thickness of mechanical test samples), do not include this detail in the body text (Tables) unless it will be specifically discussed. Simply quote the nominal value in the text and confine the detail to Appendices.

• Equations:
• Unlike Appendices, Figures and Tables, Equations do not have a caption, but are normally distinguished by a number in brackets on the right hand edge of the print area.
• Always define each of the parameters in the equation.  The left-hand side parameter might be introduced with the initial reference to the equation.  parameters on the right-hand side should be introduced after the equation, except where they have been previously used and defined.
• Figures:
• This category covers photographs, line drawings/cartoons, any data plots/graphs.
• If loading an image with rows and columns of data, it should be labelled as a Table (it is not a Figure!).
• Micrographs should always have scale bars.
• Other images may benefit from a reference scale (or a £, € or $ coin included in the image!)
• Labels with arrows pointing to the feature draw attention to specific detail of Figures.
• When graphs are plotted using Excel with a Trendline (right-click on data and "Add Trendline .."), there is an option to "Display Equation on chart" and to "Display R-squared value on chart".  R² is the coefficient of determination.
• The default equation display for a linear trendline is in the form y=mx+b where m is the slope and b is the intercept, but it is more meaningful to edit the equation to use the appropriate nomenclature for the context.
• For more information on the coefficient of determination, see Excel Regression Analysis Output Explained.
• Alexander et al [14] have elucidated some common misunderstandings surrounding the use of R² as a measure of model fit.
• Tables:
• Every set of data organised in rows and columns should be designated a Table.

Table 3: Good practice vs common errors.

Good practice/correct word	Bad practice/wrong word
acknowledge co-authors	Failure to recognise collaborators may result in an academic offence
"accurate" is correct in all details, or in exact conformity with a target	"accurate" is not a prediction that is on target by chance!
"affect" (produce an effect)	"effect" (result or consequence)
"aligned" fabric (all warp tows parallel)	aligned may not imply unidirectional
delete "amount of".	Can often be omitted without losing readability.
Angles should be quoted with a reference direction where appropriate.	"The fibres were at an angle of 45°.
"areal" (related to area).	"aerial" (radio antenna).
areal weight of samples from the same roll are normally within a range of around ±2%.	assuming reported data is correct for widely differing areal weights from the same fabric roll.
"break" (failure).	"brake" (stopping mechanism).
Capital letters should only be used for start of Sentence, Abbreviations and Acronyms, and Proper names (i.e. paper author surnames or Trade Names).	Random capital letters in sentences. Occasional titles in the reference list.
CRAG (all capitals) is the abbreviation for Composites Research Advisory Group	"Crag"
cured ply thickness (CPT) (plate thickness divided by the number of layers).
data presentation: graphs (with error bars)?	not Tables, and especially not long rambling paragraphs!
"degree" symbol is °.	Not superscript zero or superscript capital O.
"dependent" (consequent on)	"dependant" (young child or aged relative)
"digital pressure gauge"	"manometer" implies a U-tube filled with liquid.
"effect" (result or consequence)	"affect" (produce an effect)
elastic modulus is materials stiffness	elastic modulus is not strength (stress at failure)
electron microscopy samples are coated by sputtering.	electron microscopy samples are *not* normally coated by electrolysis.
error bars, and their meaning [15]	no indication of variation
“fibre reinforcements”	“reinforced fibres”
"Figure x/Table y shows".	"As can be seen from Figure x/Table y".
"Figure" should be used for all images.	Not "Graph", "Photo" or "Plot".
Graphs with error bars indicating the range of values or one standard deviation (say which!).	Plots of variation with no clue about the magnitude of the changing number!
"ground".	irregular past tense of grind (not "grinded").
"interlaminar" (shear strength).	"interlaminate" or "interlinear".
k = 1000  (103).	K = 1024  (210 in computing).
Kelly-Tyson prediction for strength of UD composites may be a reasonable estimate when other orientations are present, if all off-axis fibres are discounted?	No attempt to estimate strengths.
manufacturers: the person or company making product	manufactures: verb indicating the making of product
Numbers are normally quoted with 3 or 4 significant figures, e.g. 76.2.	If you use say 2.4365879 mm, it implies accuracy to one atomic radius !
"of" is a preposition indicating relations between objects, e.g "one of three", but is used (pejoratively?) by Terry Pratchett in place of "have".	"have" is the verb for belonging to !
"plies"	"plys"
pressure on the reinforcement in the bag is the difference between atmospheric pressure and the residual pressure in the bag.	60 mbar residual pressure is not 5x 12 bar residual pressure: pressures on the reinforcements are 952 mbar or 1000 mbar respectively at standard atmospheric pressure!
"previous"	"last" unless it is the final occurrence.
“reinforced/reinforcements”	"re-enforced/re-enforcements”
"reliable" is of sound and consistent quality or character	"reliable" is not a prediction that is on target by chance!
"shear" (biaxial load).	"sheer" (diaphanous textile).
Significant Figures should be limited to three or four numbers, unless there is an over-riding reason to be more accurate.	9.876543210 implies accuracy greater than one part in a billion!
Silicone	Silicon versus silicone: what’s the difference? (Elkem)
is Spelling and Grammar Checker in MS Word.	Failing to use this simple tool !
strength is stress at failure	strength is not stiffness/elastic modulus
"Table" should be used for any combination of columns and rows.
"to"	not "in order to": often saves two words without change of meaning.
unbalanced fabric: use the proportion of fibres in the selected direction to predict mechanical properties	do not assume 50% of the fibres are in each direction
Units of measurement: N (Newton) and Pa (Pascal) are named after people and always have an initial capital letter even when preceded by k (kilo-) or M (mega-).
"wound".	irregular past tense of wind (not "winded") as in filament winding.

References

1. ISO 14125:1998(en) Fibre-reinforced plastic composites - Determination of flexural properties, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva ~ Switzerland, 1998.
2. PT Curtis, CRAG test methods for the measurement of the engineering properties of fibre reinforced plastics, Royal Aerospace Establishment Technical Report 88 012, February 1988. MooDLE.
3. ISO 14130:1997(en) Fibre-reinforced plastic composites - Determination of apparent interlaminar shear strength by short-beam method, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva ~ Switzerland, 1998.
4. ISO 19927:2018(en) Fibre-reinforced plastic composites - Determination of interlaminar strength and modulus by double beam shear test, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva ~ Switzerland, 2018.
5. J Varna, R Joffe, LA Berglund and TS Lundström, Effect of voids on failure mechanisms in RTM laminates, Composites Science and Technology, 1995, 53(2), 241-249.
6. V Cecen, M Sarikanat, Y Seki, T Govsa, H Yildiz and IH Tavman, Polyester composites reinforced with noncrimped stitched carbon fabrics: mechanical characterization of composites and investigation on the interaction between polyester and carbon fiber, Applied Polymer Science, 5 December 2006, 102(5), 4554-4564.
7. G Zhou and GAO Davies, Characterization of thick glass woven roving/polyester laminates 2: flexure and statistical considerations, Composites, August 1995, 26(8), 587-596.
8. P Turla, SS Kumar, PH Reddy and KC Shekar, Processing and flexural strength of carbon fiberand glass fiber reinforced epoxy-matrix hybrid composite, International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT), April 2014, 3(4), 394-398.
9. T Brocks, MOH Cioffi and HJC Voorwald, Effect of fiber surface on flexural strength in carbon fabric reinforced epoxy composites, Applied Surface Science, 1 June 2013, 274, 210-216.
10. L Ascione, J-F Caron, P Godonou, K van IJselmuiden, J Knippers, T Mottram, M Oppe, MG Sorensen, J Taby, L Tromp, (editors: L Ascione, EG Gutierrez Tenreiro, S Dimova, A Pinto Vieira and S Denton), Prospect for new guidance in the engineering design of FRP, EUR 27666EN, Publications Office of the European Union, 2016.  ISBN 978-92-79-54225-1.
11. MK Rath and SK Sahu, Static behavior of woven fiber-laminated composites in hygrothermal environment, Journal of Reinforced Plastics and composites, 2011, 30(2), 1771-1781.
12. H-J Nie, X-J Shen, B-L Tang, C-Y Dang, S Yang, S-Y Fu, Effectively enhanced interlaminar shear strength of carbon fibre fabric/epoxy composites by oxidized short fibers at an extremely low content, Composites Science and Technology, 20 October 2019, 183, 107803.
13. DJ Lekou, TT Assimakopoulou and TP Philippidis, Estimation of the uncertainty in measurement of composite material mechanical properties during static testing, Strain, 2011 47, 430–438.
14. DLJ Alexander, A Tropsha and DA Winkler, Beware of R²: simple, unambiguous assessment of the prediction accuracy of QSAR and QSPR models, Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, 2015, 55(7), 1316-1322.
15. Learn Statistics Easily, Error bars in graphs: what they tell us about data, accessed 10 December 2024.

Table 1: Factors of 10^x
where x is a multiple of 3.

Units of measurement named after people should always begin with a capital letter, even when precedded by a "factor of 3" prefix, e.g.:

• Newton (N, kN, MN)
• Pascal (MPa, GPa)
• Poise (from Poiseuille: cP)

Computer shortcuts (PC)

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"I have made this letter longer than usual,
because I lack the time to make it short".
"Je n'ai fait celle-ci longue
parceque je n'ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte".
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Lettres Provinciales 16 (1656-1657)
Original and translation as given in
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 1992.

"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When 
And How and Where and Who".
Rudyard Kipling, The Elephant's Child, 1902.

"the book was true  and reality was lying".
Terry Pratchett, Soul Music, 1994, page 187.