Multi-stage penetration characteristics of thick ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene laminates

To further reveal the failure mechanisms of thick ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene(UHMWPE)laminates,field firing tests were conducted for 10-,20-,and 30-mm thick laminates against 12.7-mm calibre wedge-shaped fragment simulated projectiles at high velocities between 450 and 1200 m/s.The ballistic performance,deformation process,and staged failure characteristics of the laminates with different thicknesses were compared and analysed.The results demonstrate that the ballistic limits of the UHMWPE laminates increase almost linearly with laminate thickness.The 10-mm thick laminate generally experiences two-stage failure characteristics,whereas three-staged failure occurs in the 20-and 30-mm thick laminates and the progressive delamination is evident.The energy limit concept representing the maximum energy absorption efficiency and the idea of reuse of the thick UHMWPE laminates are proposed in this study.The findings of this research will be useful in the design of flexible and effective UHMWPE-based protective equipment.

Ballistic penetration damages of hybrid plain-woven laminates with carbon,Kevlar and UHMWPE fibers in different stacking sequences

Hybrid composite materials combine different fibers in preform and take advantages of different mechanical behaviors for improving ballistic impact damage tolerances.Here we report ballistic impact damages of plain-woven laminates with different hybrids and stacking sequences.Three kinds of hybrid laminates,i.e.,carbon/Kevlar,carbon/ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene(UHMWPE),and UHMWPE/Kevlar,had been prepared and tested in ballistic penetration with fragment simulating projectiles(FSP).The residual velocities of the projectiles and impact damage morphologies of the laminates have been obtained to show impact energy absorptions for the different hybrid schemes.A microstructural model of the hybrid laminates had also been established to show impact damage mechanisms with finite element analysis(FEA).We found that the UHMWPE/Kevlar hybrid laminates with Kevlar layers as the front face have the highest energy absorption capacity,followed by the carbon/Kevlar hybrid laminates with carbon layers as the front face.The main damage modes are fiber breakages,matrix crack and interlayer delamination.The ballistic damage evolutions from the FEA results show that the major damage is shear failure for front layers,while tension failure for the back layers.We expect that the ballistic impact performance could be improved from the different hybrid schemes.

Snap-through behaviors and nonlinear vibrations of a bistable composite laminated cantilever shell:an experimental and numerical study

The snap-through behaviors and nonlinear vibrations are investigated for a bistable composite laminated cantilever shell subjected to transversal foundation excitation based on experimental and theoretical approaches.An improved experimental specimen is designed in order to satisfy the cantilever support boundary condition,which is composed of an asymmetric region and a symmetric region.The symmetric region of the experimental specimen is entirely clamped,which is rigidly connected to an electromagnetic shaker,while the asymmetric region remains free of constraint.Different motion paths are realized for the bistable cantilever shell by changing the input signal levels of the electromagnetic shaker,and the displacement responses of the shell are collected by the laser displacement sensors.The numerical simulation is conducted based on the established theoretical model of the bistable composite laminated cantilever shell,and an off-axis three-dimensional dynamic snap-through domain is obtained.The numerical solutions are in good agreement with the experimental results.The nonlinear stiffness characteristics,dynamic snap-through domain,and chaos and bifurcation behaviors of the shell are quantitatively analyzed.Due to the asymmetry of the boundary condition and the shell,the upper stable-state of the shell exhibits an obvious soft spring stiffness characteristic,and the lower stable-state shows a linear stiffness characteristic of the shell.

Flexible,high-density,laminated ECoG electrode array for high spatiotemporal resolution foci diagnostic localization of refractory epilepsy

High spatiotemporal resolution brain electrical signals are critical for basic neuroscience research and high-precision focus diagnostic localization,as the spatial scale of some pathologic signals is at the submillimeter or micrometer level.This entails connecting hundreds or thousands of electrode wires on a limited surface.This study reported a class of flexible,ultrathin,highdensity electrocorticogram(ECoG)electrode arrays.The challenge of a large number of wiring arrangements was overcome by a laminated structure design and processing technology improvement.The flexible,ultrathin,high-density ECoG electrode array was conformably attached to the cortex for reliable,high spatial resolution electrophysiologic recordings.The minimum spacing between electrodes was 15μm,comparable to the diameter of a single neuron.Eight hundred electrodes were prepared with an electrode density of 4444 mm^(-2).In focal epilepsy surgery,the flexible,high-density,laminated ECoG electrode array with 36 electrodes was applied to collect epileptic spike waves inrabbits,improving the positioning accuracy of epilepsy lesions from the centimeter to the submillimeter level.The flexible,high-density,laminated ECoG electrode array has potential clinical applications in intractable epilepsy and other neurologic diseases requiring high-precision electroencephalogram acquisition.

Vacuum-free lamination via controlled polymer adhesion for selective photogeneration and photodetection

This study attempts to develop a reproducible thin-film formation technique called vacuum-free(VF)lamination,which transfers thin films using elastomeric polymer-based laminating mediators.Precisely,by controlling the interface characteristics of the mediator based on the work of adhesion,VF lamination is successfully performed for various thicknesses(from 20 to 240 nm)of a conjugated photoactive material composed of poly[(2,6-(4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl-3-fluoro)thiophen-2-yl)-benzo[1,2-b:4,5-bʹ]dithiophene))-alt-(5,5-(1ʹ,3ʹ-di-2-thienyl-5ʹ,7ʹ-bis(2-ethylhexyl)benzo[1ʹ,2ʹ-c:4ʹ,5ʹ-cʹ]dithiophene-4,8-dione)](a polymer donor)and 2,2ʹ-((2Z,2ʹZ)-((12,13-bis(2-butyloctyl)-3,9-diundecyl-12,13-dihydro-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-e]thieno[2ʹʹ,3ʹʹ:4ʹ,5ʹ]thieno[2ʹ,3ʹ:4,5]pyrrolo[3,2-g]thieno[2ʹ,3ʹ:4,5]thieno[3,2-b]indole-2,10-diyl)bis(methanylylidene))bis(5,6-difluoro-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile(a nonfullerene acceptor).Interestingly,the organic photovoltaic and photodetecting applications,prepared by the VF lamination process,showed superior performance compared to those of devices prepared by conventional spin-coating.This is due to the overturned surface morphology,which led to enhanced charge transport ability and blocking of the externally injected charge.Thus,the reproducible VF lamination process,exploiting an adhesion-based elastomeric polymer mediator,is a promising thin-film formation technique for developing efficient next-generation organic optoelectronic materials consistent with the solution process.

Effects of Sinusoidal Vibration of Crystallization Roller on Composite Microstructure of Ti/Al Laminated Composites by Twin-Roll Casting

A new,innovative vibration cast-rolling technology of “electromagnetic stirring+dendrite breaking+asynchronous rolling” was proposed with the adoption of sinusoidal vibration of crystallization roller to prepare Ti/Al laminated composites,and the effect of sinusoidal vibration of crystallization roller on composite microstructure was investigated in detail.The results show that the metallurgical bonding of titanium and aluminum is realized by mesh interweaving and mosaic meshing,instead of transition bonding by forming metal compound layer.The meshing depth between titanium and aluminum layers (6.6μm) of cast-rolling materials with strong vibration of crystallization roller (amplitude 0.87 mm,vibration frequency 25 Hz) is doubled compared with that of traditional cast-rolling materials (3.1μm),and the composite interfacial strength(27.0 N/mm) is twice as high as that of traditional cast-rolling materials (14.9 N/mm).This is because with the action of high-speed superposition of strong tension along the rolling direction,strong pressure along the width direction and rolling force,the composite linearity evolves from "straight line" with traditional casting-rolling to "curved line",and the depth and number of cracks in the interface increases greatly compared with those with traditional cast-rolling,which leads to the deep expansion of the meshing area between interfacial layers and promotes the stable enhancement of composite quality.

Fractures interaction and propagation mechanism of multi-cluster fracturing on laminated shale oil reservoir

The continental shale reservoirs of Jurassic Lianggaoshan Formation in Sichuan Basin contain thin lamina,which is characterized by strong plasticity and developed longitudinal shell limestone interlayer.To improve the production efficiency of reservoirs by multi-cluster fracturing,it is necessary to consider the unbalanced propagation of hydraulic fractures and the penetration effect of fractures.This paper constructed a numerical model of multi-fracture propagation and penetration based on the finite element coupling cohesive zone method;considering the construction cluster spacing,pump rate,lamina strength and other parameters studied the influencing factors of multi-cluster fracture interaction propagation;combined with AE energy data and fracture mode reconstruction method,quantitatively characterized the comprehensive impact of the strength of thin interlayer rock interfaces on the initiation and propagation of fractures that penetrate layers,and accurately predicted the propagation pattern of hydraulic fractures through laminated shale oil reservoirs.Simulation results revealed that in the process of multi-cluster fracturing,the proportion of shear damage is low,and mainly occurs in bedding fractures activated by outer fractures.Reducing the cluster spacing enhances the fracture system's penetration ability,though it lowers the activation efficiency of lamina.The high plasticity of the limestone interlayer may impact the vertical propagation distance of the main fracture.Improving the interface strength is beneficial to the reconstruction of the fracture height,but the interface communication effect is limited.Reasonable selection of layers with moderate lamina strength for fracturing stimulation,increasing the pump rate during fracturing and setting the cluster spacing reasonably are beneficial to improve the effect of reservoir stimulation.

Theoretical and experimental investigation of the resonance responses and chaotic dynamics of a bistable laminated composite shell in the dynamic snap-through mode

The dynamic model of a bistable laminated composite shell simply supported by four corners is further developed to investigate the resonance responses and chaotic behaviors.The existence of the 1:1 resonance relationship between two order vibration modes of the system is verified.The resonance response of this class of bistable structures in the dynamic snap-through mode is investigated,and the four-dimensional(4D)nonlinear modulation equations are derived based on the 1:1 internal resonance relationship by means of the multiple scales method.The Hopf bifurcation and instability interval of the amplitude frequency and force amplitude curves are analyzed.The discussion focuses on investigating the effects of key parameters,e.g.,excitation amplitude,damping coefficient,and detuning parameters,on the resonance responses.The numerical simulations show that the foundation excitation and the degree of coupling between the vibration modes exert a substantial effect on the chaotic dynamics of the system.Furthermore,the significant motions under particular excitation conditions are visualized by bifurcation diagrams,time histories,phase portraits,three-dimensional(3D)phase portraits,and Poincare maps.Finally,the vibration experiment is carried out to study the amplitude frequency responses and bifurcation characteristics for the bistable laminated composite shell,yielding results that are qualitatively consistent with the theoretical results.

Inter-well internal resonance analysis of rectangular asymmetric cross-ply bistable composite laminated cantilever shell under transverse foundation excitation

The chaotic dynamic snap-through and complex nonlinear vibrations are investigated in a rectangular asymmetric cross-ply bistable composite laminated cantilever shell,in cases of 1:2 inter-well internal resonance and primary resonance.The transverse foundation excitation is applied to the fixed end of the structure,and the other end is in a free state.The first-order approximate multiple scales method is employed to perform the perturbation analysis on the dimensionless two-degree-of-freedom ordinary differential motion control equation.The four-dimensional averaged equations are derived in both polar and rectangular coordinate forms.Deriving from the obtained frequency-amplitude and force-amplitude response curves,a detailed analysis is conducted to examine the impacts of excitation amplitude,damping coefficient,and tuning parameter on the nonlinear internal resonance characteristics of the system.The nonlinear softening characteristic is exhibited in the upper stable-state,while the lower stable-state demonstrates the softening and linearity characteristics.Numerical simulation is carried out using the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method,and a series of nonlinear response curves are plotted.Increasing the excitation amplitude further elucidates the global bifurcation and chaotic dynamic snap-through characteristics of the bistable cantilever shell.

Study of damage behavior and repair effectiveness of patch repaired carbon fiber laminate under quasi-static indentation loading

Damage caused due to low-velocity impacts in composites leads to substantial deterioration in their residual strength and eventually provokes structural failure.This work presents an experimental investigation on the effects of different patch and parent laminate stacking sequences on the enhancement of impact strength of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers(CFRP)composites by utilising the adhesively bonded external patch repair technique.Damage evolution study is also performed with the aid of Acoustic Emission(AE).Two different quasi-isotropic configurations were selected for the parent laminate,viz.,[45°/45°/0°/0°]s and[45°/0°/45°/0°]s.Quasi Static Indentation(QSI)test was performed on both the pristine laminates,and damage areas were detected by using the C-scan inspection technique.Damaged laminates were repaired by using a single-sided patch of two different configurations,viz.,[45°/45°/45°/45°]and[45°/0°/0°/45°],and employing a circular plug to fill the damaged hole.Four different combinations of repaired laminates with two configurations of each parent and patch laminate were produced,which were further subjected to the QSI test.The results reveal the effectiveness of the repair method,as all the repaired laminates show higher impact resistance compared to the respective pristine laminates.Patches of[45°/0°/0°/45°]configuration when repaired by taking[45°/45°/0°/0°]s and[45°/0°/45°/0°]s as parents exhibited 68%and 73%higher peak loads,respectively,than the respective pristine laminates.Furthermore,parent and patch of configuration[45°/0°/45°/0°]s and[45°/0°/0°/45°],respectively,attain the highest peak load,whereas[45°/45°/0°/0°]s and[45°/45°/45°/45°]combinations possess the most gradual decrease in the load.

Dynamic and electrical responses of a curved sandwich beam with glass reinforced laminate layers and a pliable core in the presence of a piezoelectric layer under low-velocity impact

The dynamic responses and generated voltage in a curved sandwich beam with glass reinforced laminate(GRL)layers and a pliable core in the presence of a piezoelectric layer under low-velocity impact(LVI)are investigated.The current study aims to carry out a dynamic analysis on the sandwich beam when the impactor hits the top face sheet with an initial velocity.For the layer analysis,the high-order shear deformation theory(HSDT)and Frostig's second model for the displacement fields of the core layer are used.The classical non-adhesive elastic contact theory and Hunter's principle are used to calculate the dynamic responses in terms of time.In order to validate the analytical method,the outcomes of the current investigation are compared with those gained by the experimental tests carried out by other researchers for a rectangular composite plate subject to the LVI.Finite element(FE)simulations are conducted by means of the ABAQUS software.The effects of the parameters such as foam modulus,layer material,fiber angle,impactor mass,and its velocity on the generated voltage are reviewed.

Low-velocity Impact Damage Analysis of Composite Laminates Using Self-adapting Delamination Element Method

On the basis ofa 2D 4-node Mindlin shell element method, a novel self-adapting delamination finite element method is presented, which is developed to model the delamination damage of composite laminates. In the method, the sublaminate elements are generated automatically when the delamination damage occurs or extends. Thus, the complex process and state of delamination damage can be simulated practically with high efficiency for both analysis and modeling. Based on the self-adapting delamination method, linear dynamic finite element damage analysis is performed to simulate the low-velocity impact damage process of three types of mixed woven composite laminates. Taking the frictional force among sublaminations during delaminating and the transverse normal stress into account, the analytical results are consistent with those of the experimental data.

RELAXATION BEHAVIOUR OF GFRP UNIDIRECTIONAL LAMINATES

In this paper two set of GFRP specimens are manufactured and tested to investigate the relaxation behaviour under cyclic loading in the longitudinal and transversel direction. The relaxation of GFRP unidirectional laminates is evident for both cyclic loadings. Under longitudinal cyclic loading the relaxation is dependent on the number of loading cycles. Under transverse loading the relaxation depends on the loading cycles as well as the time of loading. Two expressions are set up to describe the relaxation for the longitudinal and transverse loading, and the predictions agree well with the experimental data.

ON THE CALCULATION OF ENERGY RELEASE RATE FOR VISCOELASTIC CRACKED LAMINATES

The energy release rate(ERR) of crack growth as the energy change at the same time t between the two states of the structure is redefined, one is with crack length a under the loading σ(t), the other is the state with crack length a+ Δ a under the same loading condition. Thus the defined energy release rate corresponds to the released energy when a crack grows from a to a+ Δ a in an infinitesimal time. It is found that under a given loading history, the ERR is a function of time, and its maximum value should correspond with the critical state for delamination to propagate. Following William’s work, the explicit expressions of ERR for DCB experimental configurations to measure the interfacial fracture toughness have been obtained through the classical beam assumption.

INTERLAMINAR FRACTURE TOUGHNESS OF MULTI-DIRECTIONAL LAMINATES

Based on the conventional compliance and area methods, a high precision method named the angle method is presented in this work. The interlaminar fracture toughness is determined by measurement of the load and the bending angle at the loading point without measurement of the crack length, and the improvement of the conventional compliance method is made, which is more precise and can be used to general DCB specimen with unequal flexural stiffness of the cantilevers. The interlaminar fracture toughness in 0/ θ(θ =0°,30°,60°,90°) interfaces of two epoxy composites, one being the carbon fibre reinforced brittle matrix T300/4211, the other the carbon fibre reinforced tough matrix T300/3261, is measured by both compliance and angle methods, and the relationship between fracture toughness and the ply angle θ is obtained. It is found that the interlaminar fracture toughness is correlated with the type of matrix and the ply angles near the crack front.

FATIGUE LIFE PREDICTION METHOD FOR IMPACTED LAMINATES

The existing models are established based on the fatigue behavior of impacted laminates.It makes them unsuitable for the general use.So,a general 3-D progressive damage fatigue life prediction method for impacted laminates is developed based on the progressive damage theory and the fatigue behavior of unimpacted unidirectional plies.The model can predict the fatigue life of laminated composites with different ply parameters,geometry,impact damage,and fatigue loading conditions.In order to obtain the impact damage information in the case that no impact test data is available,a whole damage process analysis method for laminated composites under the impact loading and the fatigue loading is analyzed.The predicted damage statuses of composite laminates can be used to analyze the post-impact fatigue life.A parametric modeling program is developed to predict the impact damage process and the fatigue life of impacted laminates based on the whole damage process analysis method.The most relative error between the prediction and the test results is 7.78%.

A FATIGUE FAILURE CRITERION OF NOTCHED GFRP LAMINATES

A fatigue failure criterion for predicting the fatigue life of notched orthotropic fiber reinforced plasties (FRP) plates based on the concept of stress field intensity (SFI) near the notch root is subjected to further experiments. The investigation is accomplished by obtaining experimental data on the notched specimens of glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) with edged notches under tension tension cyclic loading. The process of initiation and growth of fatigue damage near the notch root is measured by means of the optic system with a computer controlled display (CCD) camera. The experimental results show that the number of loading cycles required to initiate fatigue damage is governed by the stress field intensity.

Two-dimensional analyses of delamination buckling of symmetrically cross-ply rectangular laminates

The conventional approach to analysis the buckling of rectangular laminates containing an embedded delamination subjected to the in-plane loading is to simplify the laminate as a beam-plate from which the predicted buckling load decreases as the length of the laminate increases. Two-dimensional analyses are employed in this paper by extending the one-dimensional model to take into consideration of the influence of the delamination width on the buckling performance of the laminates. The laminate is simply supported containing a through width delamination. A new parameterβ defined as the ratio of delamination length to delamination width is introduced with an emphasis on the influence of the delamination size. It is found that （i） when the ratio β is greater than one snap-through buckling prevails, the buckling load is determined by the delamination size and depth only; （ii） as the ratio β continues to increase, the buckling load will approach to a constant value. Solutions are verified with the well established results and are found in good agreement with the latter.

Nonlinear progressive damage model for composite laminates used for low-velocity impact

In order to effectively describe the progressively intralaminar and interlam- inar damage for composite laminates, a three dimensional progressive damage model for composite laminates to be used for low-velocity impact is presented. Being applied to three-dimensional （3D） solid elements and cohesive elements, the nonlinear damage model can be used to analyze the dynamic performance of composite structure and its failure be- havior. For the intralaminar damage, as a function of the energy release rate, the damage model in an exponential function can describe progressive development of the damage. For the interlaminar damage, the damage evolution is described by the framework of the continuum mechanics through cohesive elements. Coding the user subroutine VUMAT of the finite element software ABAQUS/Explicit, the model is applied to an example, i.e., carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composite laminates under low-velocity impact. It is shown that the prediction of damage and deformation agrees well with the experimental results.

DAMAGE PROGRESSIVE MODEL OF COMPRESSION OFCOMPOSITE LAMINATES AFTER LOW VELOCITY IMPACT

Compressive properties of composite laminates after low velocity impact are one of the most serious circumstances that must be taken into account in damage tolerance design of composite structures. In order to investigate compressive properties of composite laminates after low velocity impact, three dimensional dynamic finite element method (FEM) was used to simulate low-velocity impact damage of 2 kinds of composite laminates firstly. Damage distributions and projective damage areas of the laminates were predicted under two impact energy levels. The analyzed damage after impact was considered to be the initial damage of the laminates under compressive loads. Then three dimensional static FEM was used to simulate the compressive failure process and to calculate residual compressive strengths of the impact damaged laminates. It is achieved to simulate the whole process from initial low-velocity impact damage to final compressive failure of composite laminates. Compared with experimental results, it shows that the numerical predicting results agree with the test results fairly well.