STABILIZATION OF TUFF MATERIAL BY ELECTROSPINNING OF LOW AREAL WEIGHT TPU VEIL MATERIAL

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOSEPH DEITZEL ◽  
DIRK HEIDER ◽  
ROGER CRANE ◽  
TEKIN OZDEMIR

The Tailored Universal Feedstock for Forming (TuFF) material is an aligned, discontinuous carbon fiber material with high fiber volume fraction up to 63% and mechanical performance equivalent to continuous fiber, unidirectional composites. The short fiber material allows at least 40% in-plane extension during processing enabling metal-like forming approaches simplifying composites manufacturing significantly. Traditionally, TuFF preforms are produced at areal weight (AW) of ~8 grams per square meter (gsm), stacked and impregnated with thermoset or thermoplastic polymer to create prepreg followed by curing/consolidation in an autoclave or stamp forming process resulting in high-performance structural parts. Here, the impregnated TuFF prepreg can be handled the same way as traditional continuous fiber prepreg. In contrast, to enable liquid composite molding (LCM) processes with TuFF material, the unimpregnated (dry) short fiber TuFF preforms must be stabilized for handling and preforming purposes. This paper details an electrospun veil approach as shown in Figure 1 to stabilize the individual TuFF sheets while maintaining the in-plane extensibility for complex geometry parts. Electrospun TPU fibers are applied onto the TuFF surface and then consolidated via a combination of heating and pressure, formingtrials were carried out using the stabilized preforms and composites werefabricated using LCM. Tensile tests show ~90-95% property retention versus theunstabilized baseline. The approach allows fabrication of stabilized TuFF fabricsfor the first time enabling the use of LCM processes for complex geometry parts.

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (27) ◽  
pp. 4311-4324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca A Cutting ◽  
Federico Rios-Tascon ◽  
Johnathan E Goodsell

This work presents an experimental study characterizing the crush performance of hollow cylindrical tubes made with prepreg platelet molding compound (PPMC). PPMC is a composite material system that uses platelets from chopped and slit unidirectional prepreg as the basis for a molding compound. This material system has a higher fiber volume fraction and better mechanical properties than traditional short fiber systems and can be molded into complex geometries unlike continuous fiber systems. As such, this material system shows promise for use with complex structural members in vehicles. The failure morphology and specific energy absorption of the material are evaluated with different thickness-to-diameter geometries and test speeds. In addition, this work investigates how PPMC components compare to traditional continuous fiber components and finds that PPMC performs as well as continuous fiber layups with similar effective laminate stiffnesses.


2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (11) ◽  
pp. 1443-1455
Author(s):  
Mike Mühlstädt ◽  
Wolfgang Seifert ◽  
Matthias ML Arras ◽  
Stefan Maenz ◽  
Klaus D Jandt ◽  
...  

Three-dimensional stiffness tensors of laminated woven fabrics used in high-performance composites need precise prediction. To enhance the accuracy in three-dimensional stiffness tensor prediction, the fabric’s architecture must be precisely modeled. We tested the hypotheses that: (i) an advanced geometrical model describes the meso-level structure of different fabrics with a precision higher than established models, (ii) the deviation between predicted and experimentally determined mean fiber-volume fraction ( cf) of laminates is below 5%. Laminates of different cf and fabrics were manufactured by resin transfer molding. The laminates’ meso-level structure was determined by analyzing scanning electron microscopy images. The prediction of the laminates’ cf was improved by up to 5.1 vol% ([Formula: see text]%) compared to established models. The effect of the advanced geometrical model on the prediction of the laminate’s in-plane stiffness was shown by applying a simple mechanical model. Applying an advanced geometrical model may lead to more accurate simulations of parts for example in automotive and aircraft.


2017 ◽  
Vol 88 (15) ◽  
pp. 1776-1787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Habibi ◽  
Édu Ruiz ◽  
Gilbert Lebrun ◽  
Luc Laperrière

This paper presents an experimental study and modeling of the influence of surface density and fiber length on the permeability of novel nonwoven flax fiber manufactured by the paper making process. Firstly, the relation between surface density, fiber lengths and pore size distribution measured with a porometer capillary instrument is reported in this study. The results show that higher surface density gives a denser fibrous network with a low porosity rate and longer fiber decreases the total number of fibers and increases the pore size for a given surface density. A liquid permeability study was then carried out to identify the impact of surface density, short fiber length and fiber volume fraction on in-plane impregnation of the reinforcement. Permeability was found to be inversely proportional to the reinforcement of surface density. In contrast, an increase of the fiber length increases the in-plane permeability of the reinforcement. Finally, a mathematical modeling is proposed to predict the permeability behavior of these innovative natural fiber webs.


2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay R. Sayre ◽  
Alfred C. Loos

Abstract Vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) has shown potential to significantly reduce the manufacturing cost of high-performance aerospace composite structures. In this investigation, high fiber volume fraction, triaxially braided preforms with through-the-thickness stitching were successfully resin infiltrated by the VARTM process. The preforms, resin infiltrated with three different resin systems, produced cured composites that were fully wet-out and void free. A three-dimensional finite element model was used to simulation resin infusion into the preforms. The predicted flow patterns agreed well with the flow pattern observed during the infiltration process. The total infiltration times calculated using the model compared well with the measured times.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
DANIEL WALCZYK ◽  
RONALD BUCINELL ◽  
STEVEN FLEISHMAN ◽  
SHARMAD JOSHI

Interest in biocomposites is growing worldwide as companies that manufacture high-performance products seek out more sustainable material options. Although there is significant research on biocomposite material options and processing found in the literature from at least the last two decades, there are few experimentally based case studies published to help guide product designers and engineers when considering these materials. This paper discusses the use of biocomposites in the seat of an electric bus. Although it is clear that biocomposite material options are quite limited, the authors eventually settled on three natural reinforcements (cellulose, hemp, flax), two epoxies (one low and the other high viscosity) with high biobased carbon content, and one flax precoated with bioepoxy for consideration. Laminate plates with a 4mm nominal thickness are manufactured using VARTM (low viscosity epoxy only), hand layup as a surrogate for prepregging (high viscosity epoxy only), compression molding, and an out-of-autoclave process called the Pressure Focusing Layer (PFL) method. Permeability of the three reinforcements infused with the high viscosity epoxy and fiber volume fractions are determined experimentally to provide insight into VARTM processing and mechanical performance. The tensile modulus, maximum tensile stress, flexural modulus, and maximum flexural stress are measured for all combinations of reinforcement, resin, and processing using tension testing and three-point bending based on ASTM standards. Basic conclusions are drawn about the specific application and more generally about the process of using biocomposites in commercial products.


Fibers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manish Roy ◽  
Corey Hollmann ◽  
Kay Wille

This paper studied the influence of fiber volume fraction ( V f ), fiber orientation, and type of reinforcement bar (rebar) on the uniaxial tensile behavior of rebar-reinforced strain-hardening ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC). It was observed that the tensile strength increased with the increase in V f . When V f was kept constant at 1%, rebar-reinforced UHPC with fibers aligned with the load direction registered the highest strength and that with fibers oriented perpendicular to the load direction recorded the lowest strength. The strength of the composite with random fibers laid in between. Moreover, the strength, as well as the ductility, increased when the normal strength grade 60 rebars embedded in UHPC were replaced with high strength grade 100 rebars with all other conditions remaining unchanged. In addition, this paper discusses the potential of sudden failure of rebar-reinforced strain hardening UHPC and it is suggested that the composite attains a minimum strain of 1% at the peak stress to enable the members to have sufficient ductility.


Author(s):  
Emre Özaslan ◽  
Ali Yetgin ◽  
Volkan Coşkun ◽  
Bülent Acar ◽  
Tarık Olğar

Due to high stiffness/weight ratio, composite materials are widely used in aerospace applications such as motor case of rockets which can be regarded as a pressure vessel. The most commonly used method to manufacture the pressure vessels is the wet filament winding. However, the mechanical performance of a filament wound pressure vessel directly depends on the manufacturing process, manufacturing site environmental condition and material properties of matrix and fiber. The designed ideal pressure vessel may not be manufactured because of the mentioned issues. Therefore, manufacturing of filament wound composite structures are based on manufacturing experience and experiment. In this study, the effect of layer-by-layer thickness and fiber volume fraction variation due to manufacturing process on the mechanical performance was investigated for filament wound pressure vessel with unequal dome openings. First, the finite element model was created for designed thickness dimensions and constant material properties for all layers. Then, the model was updated. The updated finite element model considered the layer-by-layer thickness and fiber volume fraction variation. Effects of the thickness and fiber volume fraction on the stress distribution along the motor axial direction were shown. Also hydrostatic pressurization test was performed to verify finite element analysis in terms of fiber direction strain through the motor case outer surface. Important aspects of analyzing a filament wound pressure vessel were addressed for designers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emre Özaslan ◽  
Ali Yetgin ◽  
Bülent Acar ◽  
Volkan Coşkun ◽  
Tarık Olğar

Abstract Due to high stiffness/weight ratio, composite materials are widely used in aerospace applications such as motor case of rockets which can be regarded as a pressure vessel. The most commonly used method to manufacture pressure vessels is the wet filament winding. However, the mechanical performance of a filament wound pressure vessel directly depends on the manufacturing process, manufacturing site environmental condition, and material properties of matrix and fiber. The designed pressure vessel may not be manufactured because of the mentioned issues. Therefore, manufacturing of filament wound composite structures are based on manufacturing experience and experiment. In this study, effects of layer-by-layer thickness and fiber volume fraction variation due to manufacturing process on the mechanical performance were investigated for filament wound pressure vessel with unequal dome openings. First, the finite element model was created for designed thickness dimensions and constant material properties for all layers. Then, the model was updated. The updated finite element model considered the thickness of each layer separately and variation of fiber volume fraction between the layers. Effects of the thickness and fiber volume fraction on the stress distribution along the motor axial direction were shown. Also hydrostatic pressurization tests were performed to verify finite element analysis in terms of fiber direction strain through the motor case outer surface. Important aspects of analyzing a filament wound pressure vessel were addressed for designers.


Author(s):  
T. Stylianopoulos ◽  
A. Yeckel ◽  
J. J. Derby ◽  
X. J. Luo ◽  
M. S. Shephard ◽  
...  

The study of creeping flow in fibrous media is of considerable interest in many biological and biomedical applications. There is little work, however, on permeability calculations in three-dimensional random networks. Computational power is now sufficient to calculate permeabilities directly by constructing artificial fiber networks and simulating flow through them. Even with today’s high-performance computers, however, such an approach would be infeasible for large simulations. It is therefore necessary to develop a correlation based on fiber volume fraction, radius and orientation, preferably by incorporating previous studies on isotropic or structured networks. In this work, the direct calculations were performed, using the finite element method, on networks with varying degrees of orientation, and combinations of results for flow parallel and perpendicular to a single fiber or an array thereof, using a volume averaging theory, were compared to the detailed analysis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-284
Author(s):  
X. Ma ◽  
B. Zhou ◽  
S. F. Xue

ABSTRACTIn this paper, a novel continuous fiber reinforced piezoelectric composite (CFRPC) actuator is proposed to improve the stability and reliability of piezoelectric actuators. A piezoelectric driving structure composed of a cantilever beam and the CFRPC actuator is utilized to research the actuation performance of the CFRPC actuator. The expression of the equivalent moment for the CFRPC actuator is obtained using the equivalent load method and electro-mechanical coupling theory. Based on Euler-Bernoulli beam theory, the analytical expression of the deflection for the cantilever beam is derived. The accuracy of the obtained analytical expressions is demonstrated by finite element simulation as well as published experimental results. The actuation performance of the CFRPC actuator is investigated through the analytical expressions of the equivalent moment and deflection. The results show that the key parameters such as driving voltage, fiber volume fraction, cantilever beam height, actuator height, actuator length and actuator position have great influence on the actuation performance of the CFRPC actuator. The CFRPC actuator has good mechanical and electrical properties, and has a wide application prospect in the field of structural shape control.


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