Showing papers on "Composite laminates published in 2002"

Composite Materials: Design and Applications

Abstract: PART ONE PRINCIPLES OF CONSTRUCTION COMPOSITE MATERIALS, INTEREST AND PROPERTIES What is Composite Material Fibers and Matrix What can be Made Using Composite Materials? Typical Examples of Interest on the Use of Composite Materials Examples on Replacing Conventional Solutions with Composites Principal Physical Properties FABRICATION PROCESSES Molding Processes Other Forming Processes Practical Hints in the Manufacturing Processes PLY PROPERTIES Isotropy and Anisotropy Characteristics of the Reinforcement-Matrix Mixture Unidirectional Ply Woven Fabrics Mats and Reinforced Matrices Multidimensional Fabrics Metal Matrix Composites Tests SANDWICH STRUCTURES: What is a Sandwich Structure? Simplified Flexure A Few Special Aspects Fabrication and Design Problems Nondestructive Quality Control CONCEPTION AND DESIGN Design of a Composite Piece The Laminate Failure of Laminates Sizing of Laminates JOINING AND ASSEMBLY Riveting and Bolting Bonding Inserts COMPOSITE MATERIALS AND AEROSPACE CONSTRUCTION Aircraft Helicopters Propeller Blades for Airplanes Turbine Blades in Composites Space Applications COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR OTHER APPLICATIONS: Composite Materials and the Manufacturing of Automobiles Composites in Naval Construction Sports and Recreation Other Applications PART TWO: MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF LAMINATED MATERIALS ANISOTROPIC ELASTIC MEDIA: Review of Notations Orthotropic Materials Transversely Isotropic Materials ELASTIC CONSTANTS OF UNIDIRECTIONAL COMPOSITES: Longitudinal Modulus Poisson Coefficient Transverse Modulus Shear Modulus Thermoelastic Properties ELASTIC CONSTANTS OF A PLY ALONG AN ARBITRARY DIRECTION: Compliance Coefficients Stiffness Coefficients Case of Thermomechanical Loading MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF THIN LAMINATED PLATES: Laminate with Miplane Symmetry Laminate without Miplane Symmetry PART THREE: JUSTIFICATIONS, COMPOSITE BEAMS, THICK PLATES ELASTIC COEFFICIENTS Elastic Coefficients in an Orthotropic Material Elastic Coefficients for a Transversely Isotropic Material Case of a Ply THE HILL-TSAI FRACTURE CRITERION: Isotropic Material: Von Mises Criterion Orthotropic Material: Hill-Tsai Criterion Evaluation of the Resistance of a Unidirectional Ply with Respect to the Direction of Loading COMPOSITE BEAMS IN FLEXURE: Flexure of Symmetric Beams with Isotropic Phases The Case of any Cross Section (Asymmetric) COMPOSITE BEAMS IN TORSION: Uniform Torsion Location of the Torsion Center FLEXURE OF THICK COMPOSITE PLATES: Preliminary Remarks Displacement Field Strains Constitutive Relations Equilibrium Equations Technical Formulation for Bending Examples PART FOUR: APPLICATIONS LEVEL 1 Simply Supported Sandwich Beam Poisson Coefficient of a Unidirectional Layer Helicopter Blade Transmission Shaft for Trucks Flywheel in Carbon/Epoxy Wing Tip Made of Carbon/Epoxy Carbon Fibers Coated with Nickel Tube Made of Glass/Epoxy Under Pressure Filament Wound Reservoir, Winding Angle Filament Wound Reservoir, Taking into Account the Heads Determination of the Volume Fraction of Fibers by Pyrolysis Lever Arm Made of Carbon/Peek Unidirectionals and Short Fibers Telegraphic Mast in Glass/Resin Unidirectional Ply of HR Carbon Manipulator Arm of Space Shuttle LEVEL 2 Sandwich Beam: Simplified Calculations of the Shear Coefficient Procedure for Calculation of a Laminate Kevlar/Epoxy Laminates: Evolution of Stiffness Depending on the Direction of the Load Residual Thermal Stresses Due to Curing of the Laminate Thermoelastic Behavior of a Tube Made of Filament Wound Glass/Polyester Polymeric Tube Loaded by Thermal Load and Creep First Ply Fracture of a Laminate Ultimate Fracture Optimum Laminate for Isotropic Stress State Laminate Made of Identical Layers of Balanced Fabric Wing Spar in Carbon/Epoxy Determination of the Elastic Characteristics of a Carbon/Epoxy Unidirectional Layer from Tensile Test Sail Boat Shell in Glass/Polyester Determination of the in-Plane Shear Modulus of a Balanced Fabric Ply Quasi-Isotropic Laminate Orthotropic Plate in Pure Torsion Plate made by Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) Thermoelastic Behavior of a Balanced Fabric Ply LEVEL 3 Cylindrical Bonding Double Bonded Joint Composite Beam with Two Layers Buckling of a Sandwich Beam Shear Due to Bending in a Sandwich Beam Column Made of Stretched Polymer Cylindrical Bending of a Thick Orthotropic Plate under Uniform Loading Bending of a Sandwich Plate Bending Vibration of a Sandwich Beam Appendix 1: Stresses in the Plies of a Laminate of Carbon/Epoxy Loaded in its Plane Appendix 2: Buckling of Orthotropic Structures Bibliography

Strength prediction of bolted joints in graphite/epoxy composite laminates

Abstract: A parametric finite element analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of failure criteria and material property degradation rules on the tensile behaviour and strength of bolted joints in graphite/epoxy composite laminates. The analysis was based on a three-dimensional progressive damage model (PDM) developed earlier by the authors. The PDM comprises the components of stress analysis, failure analysis and material property degradation. The predicted load–displacement curves and failure loads of a single-lap single-bolt joint were compared with experimental data for different joint geometries and laminate stacking sequences. The stiffness of the joint was predicted with satisfactory accuracy for all configurations. The predicted failure load was significantly influenced by the combination of failure criteria and degradation rules used. A combination of failure criteria and material property degradation rules that leads to accurate strength prediction is proposed. For all the analyses performed, the macroscopic failure mechanism of the joint and the damage progression were also predicted.

Experimental and numerical study of the effect of cure cycle, tool surface, geometry, and lay-up on the dimensional fidelity of autoclave-processed composite parts

Abstract: Resin cure shrinkage and anisotropic thermal expansion cause process induced residual stresses in polymer composites. When relieved, the residual stresses cause reduction in enclosed angles of composite laminates; a phenomenon often called spring-in. Spring-in compromises the dimensional fidelity of composite parts and is often accounted for when designing the tool the part is made on. Spring-in is often estimated using past experience or simple analytical formulas that ignores many process parameters affecting the spring-in. This paper presents an experimental study that shows that spring-in can be strongly affected by a number of factors such as cure cycle, tool surface, part geometry, and lay-up. The paper also shows that by developing material models that accurately represent the stress transfer between the part and the tool at the tool-part interface, and by implementing a large deformation solution technique, the experimental results observed in this study can be predicted using finite element based process models.

Prediction of low velocity impact damage in carbon–epoxy laminates

Abstract: It is well known that composite laminates are easily damaged by low velocity impact. This event causes internal delaminations that can drastically reduce the compressive strength of laminates. In this study, numerical and experimental analyses for predicting the damage in carbon–epoxy laminates, subjected to low velocity impact, were performed. Two different laminates (04,904)s and (02,±452,902)s were tested using a drop weight testing machine. Damage characterisation was carried out using X-rays radiography and the deply technique. The developed numerical model is based on a special shell finite element that guarantees interlaminar shear stresses continuity between different oriented layers, which was considered fundamental to predict delaminations. In order to predict the occurrence of matrix failure and the delaminated areas, a new failure criterion based on experimental observations and on other developed criteria, is included. A good agreement between experimental and numerical analysis for shape and orientation of delaminations was obtained. For delaminated areas, reasonable agreement was obtained.

Chisel Edge and Pilot Hole Effects in Drilling Composite Laminates

Abstract: Previous studies have shown the severe limitations that have to be placed on machining forces when drilling composite laminates due to their propensity for delamination. Delamination, which consists of separation between the plys in a laminate, is due to the relatively poor strength of these materials in the thickness direction. In drilling, delamination is initiated when the drilling force exceeds a threshold value, particularly at the critical entry and exit locations of the drill bit. While abrasive machining results in damage-free holes in most composites, such processes are slow and expensive when compared to drilling with conventional twist drills. Here it is shown that the chisel edge in such drills is a major contributor to the thrust force that is the primary cause of delamination when drilling composite laminates. In this study, a series of drilling experiments were conducted on carbon fiber-reinforced composite laminates to determine quantitatively the effect of the chisel edge on the thrust force. In addition, tests were conducted to determine the effect of pre-drilling the laminate with a pilot hole. The results show a large reduction in the thrust force when a pilot hole is present which, in effect, removes the chisel edge contribution. An analytical model that incorporates the presence of a pilot hole is also described. The results from the thrust force-feed relationships show good agreement with experimentally determined values for the thrust force for a wide range of feeds for drilling tests conducted on laminates with and without pilot holes.

Real-time cure monitoring of smart composite materials using extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer and fiber Bragg grating sensors

Abstract: Real-time cure monitoring of composite materials is very important to improve the performance of advanced composite materials. It is very difficult to monitor the cure process online using conventional methods. Fiber optic sensors in smart composite materials provide a unique opportunity to monitor the cure process of composite materials in real time by using embedded sensors. In this paper, extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (EFPI) and fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are embedded in carbon/epoxy composite laminates and used to monitor the cure process simultaneously. Furthermore, measurements of residual strains of composite laminates during the cure have been performed. The results show that both EFPI and FBG sensors can be used to monitor the strain development of composite laminates with and without damage during cure. An excellent correlation between the EFPI and FBG sensors is presented.

Real-time nondestructive evaluation of fiber composite laminates using low-frequency Lamb waves

Abstract: Amid the nondestructive evaluation techniques available for the inspection of composite materials, only a few are suitable for implementation while the component is in service. The investigation examines the application of Lamb waves at low-frequency-thickness products for the detection of delaminations in thick composite laminates. Surface-mounted piezoelectric devices were excited with a tone burst to generate elastic waves in the structure. Experiments were carried out on composite beam specimens where wave propagation distances over 2 m were achieved and artificially induced delaminations as small as 1 cm2 were successfully identified. The feasibility of employing piezoelectric devices for the development of smart structures, where a small and lightweight transducer system design is required, has been demonstrated. The resonance spectrum method, which is based on the study of spectra obtained by forced mechanical resonance of samples using sine-sweep excitation, has been proposed as a technique for measuring the A0 Lamb mode phase velocity. The finite-element method was also used to investigate qualitatively the dynamic response of laminates to wave propagation. Several locations and spatial distribution of the actuators were examined showing the advantages of using transducers arrays for the inspection of large structures.

Low-velocity impact-induced damage of continuous fiber-reinforced composite laminates. Part I. An FEM numerical model

Abstract: A numerical model for simulating the process of low-velocity impact damage in composite laminates using the finite element method is presented in this paper, i.e. Part I of this two part series on the study of impact. In this model, the 9-node Lagrangian element of the Mindlin plate with consideration of large deformation analysis is employed. To analyze the transient response of the laminated plates, a modified Newmark time integration algorithm previously proposed by the authors is adopted here. We also proved that the impact process between a rigid ball and laminated plates is a stiff system, therefore a kind of A(α) stable method has been advocated here to solve the motion equation of the rigid ball. Furthermore, various types of damages including delamination, matrix cracking and fiber breakage, etc. and their mutual influences are modeled and investigated in detail. To overcome the difficulty of numerical oscillation or instability in the analysis of the dynamic contact problem between delaminated layers using the traditional penalty methods, we have employed dynamic spring constraints to simulate the contact effect, which are added to the numerical model by a kind of continuous penalty function. Moreover, an effective technique to calculate the strain energy release rate based on the Mindlin plate model is proposed, which can attain high precision. Finally, some techniques of adaptive analyses have been realized for improving the computational efficiency. Based on this model, a program has been developed for numerically simulating the damage process of cross-ply fiber-reinforced carbon/epoxy composite laminates under low-velocity impact load. In Part II, this numerical model will be verified by comparing with the experimental results. Also the impact damage will be investigated in detail using this numerical approach.

Prediction of stiffness and stresses in z-fibre reinforced composite laminates

Abstract: The mechanical properties of z-pinned composite laminates were examined numerically. Finite element calculations have been performed to understand how the through-thickness reinforcement modifies the engineering elastic constants and local stress distributions. Solutions were found for four basic laminate stacking sequences, all having two percent volume fraction of z-fibres. For the stiffness analysis, a micro-mechanical finite element model was employed that was based on the actual geometric configuration of a z-pinned composite unit cell. The numerical results agreed very well with some published solutions. It showed that by adding 2% volume fraction of z-fibres, the through-thickness Young's modulus was increased by 22–35%. The reductions in the in-plane moduli were contained within 7–10%. The stress analysis showed that interlaminar stress distributions near a laminate free edge were significantly affected when z-fibres were placed within a characteristic distance of one z-fibre diameter from the free edge. Local z-fibres carried significant amount of interlaminar normal and shear stresses.

Cure monitoring of composite laminates using fiber optic sensors

Abstract: In this paper, we present the simultaneous measurement of the strain and temperature during cures of various composite laminates using fiber Bragg grating/extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric (FBG/EFPI) hybrid sensors. The characteristic matrix of the hybrid sensor is derived analytically. For the fabrication of the three types of graphite/epoxy composite laminate, two FBG/EFPI hybrid sensors were embedded in each composite laminate in two mutually perpendicular directions. We performed the real-time measurement of fabrication strains and temperatures at two points within the composite laminates during the curing process in an autoclave. Through these experiments, FBG/EFPI sensors are proven to be a good choice for efficient smart monitoring of composite structures.

Cure Cycle for Thick Glass/Epoxy Composite Laminates

Abstract: Duringthe curingprocess of thick glass/epoxy composite laminates, substantial amounts of temperature lagand overshoot at the center of the laminates is usually experienced due to the large thickness and low thermal conductivity of the glass/epoxy composites, which require a long time for full and uniform consolidation. In this work, the temperature profiles of a 20mm thick unidirectional glass/epoxy laminate duringan autoclave vacuum bag process were measured and compared with the numerically calculated results. For the calculation of distributions of the temperature, degree of cure, resin pressure, exothermic heat and required time for full consolidation by three-dimensional finite element analyses, the effects of convective heat transfer coefficient and geometry of mold and bagging assembly on the temperature profiles were taken into consideration. Based on the numerical results, an optimized cure cycle with the coolingand reheatingsteps was developed by minimizingthe objective function to reduce the te...

Drilling of Aramid and Carbon Fiber Polymer Composites

Abstract: Drilling tests were conducted on aramid and carbon fiber-reinforced composite laminates using an instrumented machining center Machining parameters for the damage-free drilling of these materials were established together with semi-empirical relationships between drilling forces and cutting parameters. The drilling force responses as a function of various feed rates and drill sizes were characterized to define the key process stages taking place during a drilling cycle. Using a previously established delamination-based criterion for initiating damage during drilling, the critical feed rate for damage-free drilling was established for the two composite material types: aramid and carbon fiber-reinforced polymer laminates. Independent measurements of the opening-mode delamination crack energy release rates were conducted on both materials to determine the critical thrust force for damage initiation. This study establishes the key process stages exhibited by carbon and aramid fiber composites during drilling, the critical threshold feed rates to avoid damage, and machining relations that can be utilized for the design of intelligent controllers for efficient drilling of composite laminates.

Characterisation of fibre/matrix interfacial degradation under cyclic fatigue loading using dynamic mechanical analysis

Abstract: An experimental study was conducted to examine the influence of cyclic loading on the interfacial properties of carbon fibre/epoxy resin composites. Two composite material systems having the same fibres and epoxy matrix, but with different fibre surface treatments, oxidised/sized and untreated, respectively, were used in this study. The existence of different interphases in these materials was studied using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) techniques. Fatigue tests were conducted at various load levels and then by using DMA and C-scan techniques, the fibre/matrix interfacial degradation was characterised. The results indicated that cyclic fatigue loading did affect the fibre/matrix interfacial properties of the composite laminates. Specimens with oxidised/sized fibres showed less interfacial degradation compared to laminates with untreated fibres.

Monitoring of impact damages in composite laminates using wavelet transform

Abstract: Low-velocity impact damage is a major concern in the design of structures made of advanced laminated composites, because such damage is mostly hidden inside and cannot be detected by visual inspection. It is found that the acoustic emission (AE) waves generated by impact loads are undistinguishable from each mode and amount of damage by the conventional analysis methods in time or frequency domain. The wavelet transform (WT) can decompose the AE signals in time and wavelet scale domains, and catch the differences in these waves. It enables to distinguish the damage modes and size. This paper presents the application of the WT to detect the impact damage. As a fundamental approach, the characteristics of the AE signals due to matrix cracks and the evolution of free-edge delamination in [±452/02/902]S Gr/Ep laminates under tensile load were analyzed by the WT. Then the characteristics of impact damages of quasi-isotropic laminates were studied using the WT.

Low-velocity impact-induced damage of continuous fiber-reinforced composite laminates: part II verification and numerical investigation

Abstract: In Part I of the current work [this issue], we have developed a numerical model for simulating the process of low-velocity impact damage in composite laminates using the finite element method (FEM). This FEM model based on the Mindlin plate element can describe various impact-induced damages and their mutual effects. Some new and effective techniques have also been put forward in that paper, which can significantly increase the computational efficiency. In the current paper, i.e. Part II of the two-part series on the study of impact of composites, we focus on the following two aspects: (a) verification of our numerical model through the comparison with other researchers' results; (b) investigation of the impact-induced damage in the laminated plates using the present numerical model. For the first aspect, some previous experimental data have been adopted for comparison to validate the present numerical model. For the second, we have mainly studied the effects on the impact damage in detail in such aspects as the size of target plate, the boundary conditions of target plate, impact velocity, impactor mass, etc. From these computations, the understanding of the low-velocity impact damage in laminates can be improved.