Entrance and Exit Defects During Coarse Pitch Orbital Drilling of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic Plates

Formation of entrance and exit defects in coarse pitch orbital drilling(CPOD)of carbon fiber reinforced plastic(CFRP)plates was investigated.Deep observation on entrance and exit morphology shows tear and burr are typical defects.Meanwhile,tear is more obvious than burr,and more entrance tears emerge than exit tears.As one of the major causes of entrance and exit defects in CPOD,cutting forces were substaintially studied by contrast experiments.Then,the effect of cutting parameters on entrance and exit tear was qualitatively analyzed through a single factor test.Experiment results indicate that the variation of rotation speed has little influence on entrance and exit tear.Increasing tangential feed per tooth can enlarge entrance tear,but bring little effect on exit tear.By increasing axial feed pitch,the hole entrance and exit show severe tear.When revolution radius grows bigger and bigger,entrance and exit tear firstly decreases,and then increases.Finally,the models of tear and delamination during CPOD of CFRP were established,the formation mechanisms of entrance and exit defects were revealed,and the control strategies were accordingly put forward.

Feasibility study of wave-motion milling of carbon fiber reinforced plastic holes

Carbon fiber reinforced plastic(CFRP)has been applied in aeronautics,aerospace,automotive and medical industries due to its superior mechanical properties.However,due to its difficult-to-cut characteristic,various damages in twist drilling and chip removal clog in core drilling could happen,inevitably reducing hole quality and hole-manufacturing efficiency.This paper proposes the wave-motion milling(WMM)method for CFRP hole-manufacturing to improve hole quality.This paper presents a motion path model based on the kinematics of the WMM method.The wave-motion cutting mode in WMM was analyzed first.Then,comparison experiments on WMM and conventional helical milling(CHM)of CFRP were carried out under dry conditions.The results showed that the hole surface quality of the CFRP significantly improved with a decrease of 18.1%–36%of Ra value in WMM compared to CHM.WMM exerted a significantly weaker thrust force than that of CHM with a reduction of 12.0%–24.9%and 3%–7.7%for different axial feed per tooth and tangential feed per tooth,respectively.Meanwhile,the hole exit damages significantly decreased in WMM.The average tear length at the hole exit in WMM was reduced by 3.5%–29.5%and 35.5%–44.7%at different axial feed per tooth and tangential feed per tooth,respectively.Moreover,WMM significantly alleviated tool wear.The experimental results suggest that WMM is an effective and promising strategy for CFRP hole-manufacturing.

Square concrete columns strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced plastics sheets at low temperatures

Twenty-one square concrete columns were constructed and tested. The testing results indicate that bonded carbon fiber reinforced plastics(CFRP) sheets can be used to increase the strength and improve the serviceability of damaged concrete columns at low temperatures. The failure of the specimens,in most cases,takes place within the middle half of the columns. And the failure of strengthened columns is sudden and explosive. The CFRP sheets increase both the axial load capacity and the ultimate concrete compressive strain of the columns. The ultimate loads of strengthened columns at-10,0 and 10 ℃ increase averagely by 9.09%,6.63% and 17.83%,respectively,as compared with those of the control specimens. The axial compressive strength of strengthened columns is related to the curing temperatures. The improvement of axial compressive strength decreases with reducing temperature,and when the temperature drops to a certain value,the improvement increases with falling temperature.

Impact Responses of the Carbon Fiber Fabric Reinforced Composites

To study the response characteristics of the carbon fiber fabric reinforced composites under impact loading, one dimensional strain impact test, multi gauge technique and Lagrange analysis method are used. The decaying rule of the stress σ , strain ε , strain rate ε · and density ρ with time and space is obtained. By the theory of dynamics, the impact response characteristics of the material is analyzed and discussed.

Effects of fiber orientation on tool wear evolution and wear mechanism when cutting carbon fiber reinforced plastics

The aim of the present paper is to reveal the influence of different fiber orientations on the tool wear evolution and wear mechanism. Side-milling experiments with large-diameter milling tools are conducted. A finite element(FE) cutting model of carbon fiber reinforced plastics(CFRP)is established to get insight into the cutting stress status at different wear stages. The results show that different fiber orientations bring about distinct differences in the extent, profile and mechanism of tool wear. Severer wear occurs when cutting 45° and 90° plies, followed by 0°, correspondingly,the least wear is obtained when θ = 135°(θ represents the orientation of fibers). Moreover, the worn profiles of cutting tools when θ = 0° and 45° are waterfall edge, while round edge occurs whenθ = 135° and a combined shape of waterfall and round edge is obtained when θ = 90°. The wear mechanisms under different fiber orientations are strongly dependent on the cutting stress distributions. The evolution of tool wear profile is basically consistent with the stress distribution on the tool surface at different wear stages, and the extent of tool wear is determined by the magnitude of stress on the tool surface. Besides, the worn edges produce an actual negative clearance angle,which decreases the actual cutting thickness and leads to compressing and bending failure of fibers beneath the cutting region as well as low surface qualities.

Multi-Scale Design and Optimization of Composite Material Structure for Heavy-Duty Truck Protection Device

In this paper,to present a lightweight-developed front underrun protection device(FUPD)for heavy-duty trucks,plain weave carbon fiber reinforced plastic(CFRP)is used instead of the original high-strength steel.First,the mechanical and structural properties of plain carbon fiber composite anti-collision beams are comparatively analyzed from a multi-scale perspective.For studying the design capability of carbon fiber composite materials,we investigate the effects of TC-33 carbon fiber diameter(D),fiber yarn width(W)and height(H),and fiber yarn density(N)on the front underrun protective beam of carbon fiber compositematerials.Based on the investigation,a material-structure matching strategy suitable for the front underrun protective beam of heavy-duty trucks is proposed.Next,the composite material structure is optimized by applying size optimization and stack sequence optimization methods to obtain the higher performance carbon fiber composite front underrun protection beam of commercial vehicles.The results show that the fiber yarn height(H)has the greatest influence on the protective beam,and theH1matching scheme for the front underrun protective beamwith a carbon fiber composite structure exhibits superior performance.The proposed method achieves a weight reduction of 55.21% while still meeting regulatory requirements,which demonstrates its remarkable weight reduction effect.

Numerical Determination of Shear Strength of Steel Reinforced Concrete Column Strengthened by CFRP Sheets

The earthquake resistant property of reinforced concrete members depends on the interaction between reinforcing bars and surrounding concrete through bond to a large degree. In this paper a general system aimed at dealing with the failure analysis of reinforced concrete columns strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) sheets including bond slip of the anchored reinforcing bars at the foot of the columns is presented. It is based on the yield design theory with a mixed modeling of the structure, according to which the concrete material is treated as a classical two dimensional continuum, whereas the longitudinal reinforcing bars are regarded as one dimensional rods including bond slip at the foot of the columns. In shear reinforced zones both the shear CFRP sheets and transverse reinforcing bars are incorporated in the analysis through a homogenization procedure and they are only in tension. The approach is then implemented numerically by means of the finite element formulation. The numerical procedure produces accurate estimates for the loading carrying capacity of the shear members taken as an illustrative application by correlation with the experimental results, so the proposed approach is valid.

Experimental study on slender reinforced concrete columns wrapped with CFRP

By axial compression tests on 6 reinforced concrete slender columns wrapped with carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP),with slenderness ratio(SR) from 4.5 to 17.5,the results show that when SR increases the retrofitting effect declines. In the case of same SR,the stability coefficient (SC) for the reinforced concrete(RC) columns with CFRP is much less than that without CFRP. There is 20% increase of stable bearing capacity to the former as compared with the latter when the SR in less than 17.5. The study summarized the simplified formula for SC,which provides a reference for engineering designers.

Shear capacity of reinforced concrete columns strengthened with CFRP sheet

This paper discusses the results of tests on the shear capacity of reinforced concrete columns strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) sheet. The shear transfer mechanism of the specimens reinforced with CFRP sheet was studied. The factors affecting the shear capacity of reinforced concrete columns strengthened with CFRP sheet were analyzed. Several sug-gestions such as the number of layers, width and tensile strength of the CFRP sheet are proposed for this new strengthening technique. Finally, a simple and practical design method is presented in the paper. The calculated results of the suggested method are shown to be in good agreement with the test results. The suggested design method can be used in evaluating the shear capacity of reinforced concrete columns strengthened with CFRP sheet.

Fabrication and Drilling Tests of Chemical Vapor Deposition Diamond Coated Drills in Machining Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond coated drills are fabricated by depositing diamond films on Co-cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co) drills. The characteristics of as-deposited diamond coatings are investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Raman spectra. To evaluate the cutting performance of diamond coated drills, comparative drilling tests are conducted using diamond coated and uncoated WC-Co drills, with carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) as the workpiece on a high-speed computer numerical control (CNC) machine. Thrust force and tool wear are measured during the drilling process. The results show that diamond coated drill exhibits better cutting performance, compared with the uncoated drill. The value of flank wear is about 70 μm after machining 90 holes, about a half of that of the WC-Co drill with 145 μm after drilling only 30 holes. The wear rate of WC-Co drill is higher than that of diamond coated drill before diamond films peeling off. The diamond coated drill achieves more predictable hole quality. The improved cutting performance of the diamond coated drill is due to the high hardness, wear resistance and low coefficient of friction.

DELAMINATION FORMATION AND DELAMINATION PROPAGATION OF COMPOSITE LAMINATES UNDER COMPRESSIVE FATIGUE LOADING

Fatigue tests of the smooth composite laminates and the notched composite laminates under compressive cyclic loading have been carried out. The damage mechanism is discussed and analyzed. Damage evolution is monitored using stiffness decay. From these tests, it is found that the initial delamination occurs at the free boundary of smooth specimens, or the notch boundary of notched specimens, subjected to the compression-compression cyclic load. A point of view in relation to two-phases of compression fatigue delamination of composites is proposed, namely, compression-compression delamination consists of the delamination formation phase and the delamination propagation, and there is a 'damage transition point' to separate this two-phases. Furthermore, an empirical modulus degradation formula and its parameters fitting method are presented. According to the test data handling results, it is shown that this formula is univocal and can fit the test data conveniently. In addition, two kinds of new anti-buckling devices are designed for these tests. At last, the E-N curves, the D-N curves and the S-N curve of the smooth carbon fiber reinforced composite laminates of T300/648C are determined to predict the fatigue life of the notched composite laminate. And the E-N curve of the notched specimens at the given load ratio R = 10 and minimum load Pmin = -0.45 kN is also measured to verify the estimated result of fatigue life.

Ultrasonic Approach of Rayleigh Pitch-Catch Contact Ultrasound Waves on CFRP Laminated Composites

CFRP （carbon fiber reinforced plastics） composite materials have wide applicability because of their inherent design flexibility and improved material properties. However, impacted composite structures have 50%-75% less strength than undamaged structures. In this work, a CFRP composite material was nondestructively characterized in order to ensure product quality and structural integrity of CFRP and one-sided pitch-catch technique was developed to measure impacted-damaged area by using an automated-data acquisition system in an immersion tank. A pitch-catch signal was found to be more sensitive than normal incidence backwall echo of longitudinal wave under defect conditions in the composite.

Lightweight Design of Spaceborne CFRP Rigid Antenna Reflector

In order to overcome the shortcoming of space-borne rigid antenna reflector made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic(CFRP)skins with aluminum honeycomb sandwich(SAHS)structure,a new type of full CFRP skin plus rib(SPR)structure ring-focused parabolic surface antenna reflector with the size of 2.5 m×1.9 m is designed.Under the condition that the original caliber,surface type,and interface remain unchanged,the main influence factors are designed and controlled.First,from the perspective of high stiffness,lightweight,and easy to form,a finite element simulation software is used to analyze and optimize the layout of the rib,the cross-sectional shape of the rib,the size of the rib,and the matching of the size and the coefficients of thermal expansion(CTEs)of the rib and the skin.Second,two structures are prepared by the autoclave molding process.Third,the weight and the surface precision root mean square(RMS)value are measured.The results show that the fundamental frequency of the SPR structure is 142.2 Hz,which is 3.5 Hz higher;the number of the new structural parts is reduced by 40%,and the forming process is greatly simplified.The total weight of the new structure is 11.9 kg,lighter 42.5%,indicating that the weight loss is obvious.The RMS value is 0.15 mm,which is slightly lower 0.01 mm but satisfies the accuracy requirement not greater than 0.3 mm.It is proved that the SPR structure reflector is a superior structure of the lightweight spaceborne antenna reflector.

Damage Detection for CFRP Based on Planar Electrical Capacitance Tomography

Due to the widespread use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer/plastic(CFRP),the nondestructive structural health monitoring for CFRP is playing an increasingly essential role.As a nonrad iative,noninvasive and nondestructive detection technique,planar electrical capacitance tomography(PECT)electrodes array is employed in this paper to reconstruct the damage image according to the calculated dielectric constant changes.The shape and duty ratio of PECT electro-des are optimized according to the relations between sensitivity distribution and the dielectric constant of different anisotropic degrees.The sensitivity matrix of optimized PECT sensor is more uniform as the result shows,because the sensitiv-ity of insensitivity area can be increased by adding rotation of optimized electro-des.The reconstructed image qualities due to different PECT arrays and different damage locations are investigated at last.The simulation results indicate that:PECT can be used to detect the surface damage of CFRP;the sensitivity matrix of PECT for CFRP is highly relevant with the degree of anisotropic dielectric con-stant;the rotatable PECT sensor with rotation has better performance in unifor-mity of sensitivity;for different damage locations,the rotatable sensor with rotation has better image quality in most cases.

Ultrasonic Pulse Signal Resonance Features in Layered CFRP Within Voids

The ultrasonic pulse signal resonance features in layered carbon fiber reinforced plastic（CFRP） within voids were researched. The frequency domain model of acoustic wave propagation in multilayered medium was established. Then the reflection coefficient of multilayered CFRP within voids was numerically calculated. The results are as follows. When the CFRP laminate is tested by ultrasonic whose center frequency is close to the CFRP inherent resonant frequency, the ultrasonic may generate resonance phenomenon in CFRP. If CFRP contains evenly distributed voids, the frequency of resonant signal and its amplitude all decrease with the increase of porosity. For the thick section CFRP within local concentrated voids, the local concentrated voids near testing surface will cause signal frequency reduction and the decrease of its amplitude. But the voids which exist in layers far away from testing surface almost have no influence on signal resonance. The ultrasonic pulse echo testing was conducted for thick section CFRP specimen. The analysis results of testing signals were in accordance with the results of the numerical calculation, showing that the reflection coefficient frequency response model can effectively explain the ultrasonic resonance phenomenon in layered CFRP within voids.

Recent Advancement in Optical Fiber Sensing for Aerospace Composite Structures

Optical fiber sensors have attracted considerable attention in health monitoring of aerospace composite structures. This paper briefly reviews our recent advancement mainly in Brillouin-based distributed sensing. Damage detection, life cycle monitoring and shape reconstruction systems applicable to large-scale composite structures are presented, and new technical concepts, ＂smart crack arrester＂ and ＂hierarchical sensing system＂, are described as well, highlighting the great potential of optical fiber sensors for the structural health monitoring （SHM） field.

Enhanced electrothermal effect of carbon fibrous composites decorated with high conductive carbon nanotube webs

Literature has demonstrated that Carbon Nanotubes(CNTs) can greatly enhance the electrical conductivity and matrix-dominated mechanical properties of fibrous composites. However, electrothermal coupling effect of CNTs on Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics(CFRPs) has scarcely been considered. This work prepared and introduced thin and porous CNT webs to the surface or/and interface of a CFRP to enhance its electrothermal properties. The results show that CNT webs can enhance the transverse electrical conductivities of the CFRP by 231%-519% in a current range of 50–150mA, when compared to the base-CFRP. Also, the surface temperature of CNT webs decorated CFRP can be improved by 20.5–32.3℃ within 3min showing a self-heating rate of 6.8–10.8℃/min just with an applied voltage of 20–30V, increased by 152%-177% when compared to the base-CFRP(2.7–3.9℃/min). Also, deicing can be finished within 4–10min with a voltage of 18V and an input power of 246W/m^(2). Moreover, the electrothermal processes nearly have no negative effect on the mechanical properties of the CFRP. The relatively low input power and short response time for deicing make the CNT webs decorated CFRP may be a potential new generation for aeronautical deicing structure.

Linear and Nonlinear Ultrasonic Detections of Impact Damage in Composite Laminate

The appearance and accumulation of internal impact damage seriously influence overall performance of carbon fiber reinforced plastic(CFRP).Thus,this study evaluates the change in impact damage number by using linear and nonlinear ultrasonic Lamb wave detection methods,and compares these two detection results.An ultrasonic wave simulation model for composite structure with impact damage is established using the finite element method,and the interaction between impact damage and the ultrasonic wave is simulated.Simulation results demonstrate that the ultrasonic amplitude linearly decreases,and the relative nonlinear parameter linearly increases in proportion to the impact number,respectively.The linear-fitting slope of nonlinear parameter is 0.38 per impact number at an input frequency of 1.0 MHz.It is far higher than that of the linear ultrasonic amplitude,which is only-0.12.However,with the increase of impact damage,the linear growth of nonlinear parameters mainly depends on the decrease in ultrasonic amplitude rather than the accumulation of second harmonic amplitude.In the linear ultrasonic amplitude detection,the linear fitting slope at 1.1 MHz is-0.14,which is lower than those at 0.9 MHz and 1.0 MHz.Meanwhile,in the nonlinear ultrasonic parameter detection,the linear fitting slope at 1.1 MHz is 0.92,which is higher than those at 0.9 MHz and 1.0 MHz.The results show that higher frequencies lead to greater attenuation of ultrasonic amplitude and a larger increase in nonlinear parameters,which can enhance the sensitivity of both linear and nonlinear ultrasonic detections.The accuracy of simulation results is demonstrated through the low-velocity impact and ultrasonic experiments.The results show that compared with nonlinear ultrasonic technology,the linear ultrasonic technology is more suitable for impact damage assessment of carbon fiber reinforced plastic because of its simpler detection process and higher sensitivity.

Enhanced ultrasonic total focusing imaging of CFRP corner with ray theory-based homogenization technique

Ultrasonic testing is effective in defect characterization and quality assurance of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic(CFRP) components in the aerospace industry. Due to the coupling between complex shape and elastic anisotropy, the Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing(PAUT) and time-based Total Focusing Method(TFM) face significant challenges in the calculation of wave propagation. A wave velocity distribution model is established for a multidirectional convex corner of CFRP based on a homogenization theory and the above coupling effects are also incorporated. A ray-tracing method is proposed based on Dijkstra’s shortest path search algorithm. The predicted time of flight ensures that this technique, the homogenized TFM, could synthesize a high-quality focused image by post-processing on the full matrix capture data. Experiments on a laminate with three φ1.5 mm Side-Drilled Holes(SDHs) in different circumferential directions confirm a successful homogenized TFM imaging that all SDHs can be effectively detected. As compared to the isotropic scenario, the maximum positioning error is reduced to 0.12, 0.08, and 0.38 mm, and the Signal-to-Noise Ratios(SNRs) are increased by 2.1, 1.1, and 11.8 dB, respectively. It is suggested that the ray-tracing assisted TFM technique can effectively improve the imaging of corners in CFRP components.

Effects of surface topography and specimen thickness on high-speed raindrop impact damage of CFRP laminates

Raindrop impact erosion has been observed since early days of aviation,and can be catastrophic for exposed materials during supersonic flight.A single impact waterjet apparatus is established for mimicking drop impacts at the velocities between 350 m/s and 620 m/s.Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer(CFRP)laminates with three different surface morphologies and specimen thicknesses are tested here.A central region with no visible damage has been noticed,surrounded by a"failure ring"with common damage patterns including resin removal,matrix cracking,fiber breakage and mass fiber loss.Asymmetric features are presented in the"failure ring"whose whole scope extends larger along the longitudinal direction than the transverse direction of the top layer.The mechanism of the resin removal is related to fiber-matrix debonding,and its onset and propagation can be facilitated by initial surface asperities with the shear action of the lateral jetting.In cases of multiple impact,good surface quality can slow down the evolution of resin removal and fiber exposure on the CFRP surface,reducing the erosion speed and delaying the occurrence of structural damages in the subsequent impacts.Rayleigh wave dominates the occurrence of matrix cracking on the CFRP surface,and subsequently,results in material loss and peeling of the top-layer because of lateral flow.With the increase of the specimen thickness,both the interlaminar and intralaminar failures decrease as the impact damage mechanism changes from plate bending stress to the reflection of stress waves.