1 Introduction​

As a crucial component of global transportation and energy development, the marine and shipbuilding industry directly impacts trade efficiency, energy supply, and national security. Ships and offshore platforms operate long-term in harsh environments characterized by high salt spray, high humidity, and strong winds and waves. Materials used in these environments must simultaneously possess high strength, corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance, and lightweight properties. While traditional materials such as steel, aluminum alloy, and fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) meet strength requirements, they often suffer from drawbacks including heavy weight, insufficient corrosion resistance, or high maintenance costs, limiting the improvement of ship performance and operational economy.​

Against this backdrop, CFRT (Continuous Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic) composite sheets, with their unique continuous fiber-reinforced structure and thermoplastic resin matrix, have emerged as a key choice for material upgrading in the marine and shipbuilding industry. Their high specific strength, lightweight nature, corrosion resistance, thermoplastic processability, and recyclability enable them to demonstrate significant advantages in hull skins, decks, cabin structural components, and offshore platform support structures. This paper elaborates on the applications and prospects of CFRT thermoplastic composite sheets in the marine and shipbuilding industry from multiple perspectives, including material properties, application scenarios, technical implementation, economic and environmental benefits, design innovation, and future development trends.​

2 CFRT Material Properties and Adaptability to Marine Environments​

Ships and offshore platforms endure multiple environmental challenges during long-term operation, such as wind and wave impact, salt spray corrosion, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and temperature-humidity cycling. Designed with a core structure of continuous fiber reinforcement, CFRT thermoplastic composite sheets can provide high strength and stiffness at low density, meeting the mechanical requirements of hull skins, cabin bulkheads, and deck structures. Compared with traditional FRP or metal materials, CFRT not only offers higher strength but also lower weight, significantly reducing ship self-weight, improving load capacity and speed, while decreasing fuel consumption.​

CFRT thermoplastic composite sheets exhibit excellent corrosion resistance. Their thermoplastic resin matrix can effectively block the erosion of fibers by seawater, salt spray, and chemical media, while the continuous fiber structure enhances overall toughness and impact resistance. In marine applications, the material maintains structural integrity even under long-term immersion and wind-wave action, reducing maintenance and replacement frequency. The recyclability of CFRT further enhances its environmental value, making ship construction and operation more aligned with green development concepts.​

In addition, the thermoplastic processing properties of CFRT allow the production of complex geometric structural components through thermoforming and compression molding processes, providing reliable technical support for ship lightweighting and complex designs. The material can undergo secondary thermoforming and local repair on-site, adapting to the customized and maintenance needs of ships, and improving construction and operational flexibility.​

3 Application in Hull Skins​

Hull skins are critical components of ship structures that directly withstand seawater erosion and wind-wave impact, and their performance is directly related to ship safety and service life. The application of CFRT thermoplastic composite sheets in hull skins demonstrates significant advantages. The continuous fiber-reinforced structure provides high strength and bending stiffness, enabling the hull to remain stable under wave impact. Meanwhile, the material’s low density significantly reduces total ship weight, improving speed and fuel economy.​

Compared with traditional steel hulls, CFRT hulls offer stronger corrosion resistance, reducing the frequency of anti-corrosion coating maintenance and thus lowering operational costs. In marine transportation and ocean-going operations, this corrosion resistance can significantly extend ship service life. Additionally, the thermoplastic processing properties allow skin sheets to be prefabricated in factories or on-site, ensuring dimensional accuracy and structural consistency, and improving construction efficiency.​

The application of CFRT sheets in hull skins also brings excellent fatigue resistance. Long-term wave action can cause fatigue cracks in metal and FRP sheets, while the continuous fiber structure of CFRT can absorb stress concentration and impact energy, improving fatigue life and thereby reducing long-term maintenance and inspection costs.​

4 Application in Decks and Cabin Structural Components​

CFRT thermoplastic composite sheets also exhibit strong advantages in decks and cabin structural components. Ship decks need to bear the weight of personnel, equipment, and cargo, while resisting wind, waves, and exposure to the elements. Through the design of high specific strength and toughness, CFRT materials achieve an optimized solution that balances lightweighting and load-bearing capacity. Lightweight decks reduce ship self-weight, improve navigation efficiency, and minimize the structural impact on buoyancy and stability.​

Cabin structural components such as bulkheads, ceilings, floors, and furniture can also achieve lightweighting and high durability through CFRT sheets. The material’s corrosion resistance, moisture resistance, and impact resistance ensure that internal ship facilities are not easily deformed, cracked, or aged during long-term use, improving comfort and safety. Furthermore, CFRT thermoplastic sheets can achieve complex shapes through compression molding or fiber placement technology, meeting the diverse and personalized needs of ship internal space design.​

5 Application in Offshore Platforms and Auxiliary Structures​

CFRT thermoplastic composite sheets also have broad application prospects in offshore platforms and auxiliary structures. Offshore oil and gas platforms, wind power platforms, and scientific research platforms require materials with high strength, corrosion resistance, lightweight properties, and convenient construction. CFRT materials can not only withstand high wind speeds and wave impacts at sea but also resist seawater corrosion and UV aging, ensuring the long-term safe operation of platforms.​

In addition, the thermoplastic nature of CFRT sheets allows platform support structures to be prefabricated in factories and rapidly assembled on-site through modular design, improving construction efficiency and safety. Modular components are easy to transport and install, and also facilitate recycling and reuse after the platform’s service life ends, achieving resource recycling and sustainable development goals.​

6 Technical Implementation and Processing Technology​

The application of CFRT thermoplastic composite sheets in the marine and shipbuilding industry relies on advanced processing technologies. Compression molding and automated fiber placement are the main methods. Through computer-controlled fiber laying direction and layer count, mechanical properties are optimized, enabling the sheets to maintain stability under multi-directional forces. The thermoplastic properties allow the material to undergo secondary forming or repair after heating, adapting to on-site adjustments and complex structural requirements.​

During the construction process, lightweight sheets reduce hoisting and installation difficulties, and modular design facilitates rapid assembly. At the same time, standardized production of components can be achieved, improving overall construction efficiency. The mature application of these technologies allows CFRT sheets to fully exert their advantages of lightweighting, high strength, and durability in ships and offshore platforms.​

7 Economic Benefits and Operational Advantages​

Ships and offshore platforms adopting CFRT thermoplastic composite sheets demonstrate outstanding economic performance. Material lightweighting reduces fuel consumption and power load, while corrosion resistance and fatigue resistance reduce maintenance and replacement frequency, improving long-term operational efficiency. This advantage is particularly evident in ocean-going shipping or long-term offshore platform operations, which can significantly reduce operational costs and extend equipment service life.​

Meanwhile, the modular and recyclable properties of CFRT provide an economically feasible solution for ship decommissioning and platform upgrading. The material can be reused through thermoplastic processing technology, reducing waste and raw material consumption, and aligning with global green development and circular economy trends in the marine industry.​

8 Design Innovation and Engineering Freedom​

The design freedom of CFRT thermoplastic composite sheets provides more innovative space for ships and offshore platforms. Complex curved skins, honeycomb-structured decks, modular cabin bulkheads, and lightweight support components can all be realized through CFRT. The material’s high rigidity and toughness ensure structural stability, while allowing designers and engineers to conduct diverse styling and functional integration designs.​

For example, ship hulls can optimize impact resistance through continuous fiber laying, and deck and cabin interior components can adopt lightweight honeycomb structures while maintaining aesthetics and durability. This collaborative design method of materials and structures achieves the optimal balance between safety, durability, and construction convenience for ships and marine facilities.​

9 Future Development Trends​

In the future, with the increasing global demand for green, lightweight, and high-performance materials in the marine industry, CFRT thermoplastic composite sheets will further expand their application scope. Material performance will continue to improve; the combination of new high-modulus fibers and high-performance thermoplastic resins will enhance fatigue resistance, impact resistance, and corrosion resistance. Manufacturing technology will become more intelligent and automated, achieving high-precision and high-efficiency production through digital design, automated fiber placement, and compression molding technologies. Modularization and recyclability will promote the full-life-cycle management of marine facilities, enhancing sustainability and economy. Meanwhile, the functional integration potential of CFRT materials will provide technical support for ship intelligence, marine energy platform monitoring, and self-healing systems, driving innovative development in the industry.​

10 Conclusion​

With unique properties such as high specific strength, lightweight, corrosion resistance, thermoplastic processability, and recyclability, CFRT thermoplastic composite sheets provide a new material solution for the marine and shipbuilding industry. Their applications in hull skins, decks, cabin structural components, and offshore platforms not only improve structural performance and durability but also reduce operational and maintenance costs. With the continuous optimization of material technology and processing processes, CFRT thermoplastic composite sheets will become an indispensable core material in the future marine and shipbuilding industry, providing solid support for the safe, efficient, and sustainable development of the global marine industry.