Three-dimensional Cure Simulation of Stiffened Thermosetting Composite Panels

Stiffened thermosetting composite panels were fabricated with co-curing processing.In the co-curing processing,the temperature distribution in the composite panels was nonuniform.An investigation into the threedimensional cure simulation of T-shape stiffened thermosetting composite panels was presented.Flexible tools and locating tools were considered in the cure simulation.Temperature distribution in the composites was predicted as a function of the autoclave temperature history.A nonlinear transient heat transfer finite element model was developed to simulate the curing process of stiffened thermosetting composite panels.And a simulation example was presented to demonstrate the use of the present finite element procedure for analyzing composite curing process.The glass/polyester structure was investigated to provide insight into the nonuniform cure process and the effect of flexible tools and locating tools on temperature distribution.Temperature gradient in the intersection between the skin and the flange was shown to be strongly dependent on the structure of the flexible tools and the thickness of the skin.

Low-velocity impact response and infrared radiation characteristics of thermoplastic/thermoset composites

The low-velocity impact response and infrared radiation characteristics of composites have rarely been focused on simultaneously.This study aims to investigate the low-velocity impact response and infrared radiation characteristics of the glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic polypropylene and carbon fiber reinforced thermosetting epoxy resin laminates wildly used in the aircraft industry.The impact tests were conducted at five energy levels.Characterization parameters such as impact load,displacement,and absorbed energy were measured.The damage evolution and damage modes of the laminates were analyzed through active and passive thermography,ultrasonic C-scan,and optical microscope.The results indicate that Thermosets(TS)laminates exhibit better impact resistance,while Thermoplastics(TP)laminates show higher delamination ductility,and the maximum contact force of TP laminates is much smaller than that of the TS laminates under lowvelocity impacts,but the low bending stiffness and low ductility of the TP matrix cause the difference in energy absorption level between the two not significant.The temperature characteristic changes of passive infrared thermography heat maps could characterize the damage mode of the laminates.The correlation between the heat maps and the impact characteristic curves is explained;the fluctuation of the impact characteristic curves is directly related to the hot spot characteristics changes of the heat maps.More frequent curve fluctuations correspond to a larger and brighter hot spot on the heat map,which peaks at the maximum impact load after the impact force versus time curve fluctuation cutoff point,the maximum center displacement of the impact force versus displacement curve,and the maximum absorbed energy of the absorbed energy versus time curve.

Assessment of two quasi-static approaches to mimic repeated impact response and damage behaviour of CFRP laminates

Full impact damage tolerance assessment requires the ability to properly mimic the repeated impact response and damage behaviour of composite materials using quasi-static approximations.To this aim,this paper reports an experimental investigation evaluating two quasi-static methods for mimicking repeated impact response and damage behaviour of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer(CFRP)composite laminates.In this study,an 8.45-J single impact was repeated 225 times and mimicked with 225 times 6.51-J quasi-static(energy equivalent)indentations and with 225 quasi-static(force equivalent)indentations following the recorded impact peak force variation.Results show that the loading rate and the inertial effect are the two major factors affecting the responses of the composite laminates under out-of-plane concentrated loading.Both the energyand force-equivalent quasi-static indentations failed to reproduce the impact responses greatly associated with high loading rate and inertial effect.The force-equivalent quasi-static indentations were performed in a semi-automatic way and induced damage states more similar to those of the repeated impacts than those of the energy-equivalent quasi-static indentations,whereas the latter can be better automated and has better reproducibility compared to that of the repeated impact responses,as it is less dependent on high loading rate and inertial effect.