Damage-tolerant composite structures by Z-pinning

Author(s):  
I.K. Partridge ◽  
M. Yasaee ◽  
G. Allegri ◽  
J.K. Lander
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAVANA PRABHAKAR ◽  
VINAY DAMODARAN, ◽  
ABARINATHAN PUSHPARAJ SUBRAMANIYAN

The long-term goal of this ONR funded project is to facilitate the design of architected composites that play a key role in damage tolerant and resilient structures. The main emphasis is on developing new composite structures with improved performance and durability as compared to conventional structural composites. To that end, we will present our work in detail on the following within the realm of sandwich composites along with a novel Machine Learning framework for stress prediction in composites: 1) Novel recoverable sandwich composite structures: Traditional sandwich cores such as foam core or honeycomb structures are good options for enabling lightweight and stiff structures. Although, these cores are known to dissipate energy under extreme conditions such as impact loading, they experience permanent damage. Here, our goal is to design core structures that undergo substantial deformation without accumulating damage and recover their original geometric configuration after the loading is removed. In contrast to a traditional foam or honeycomb structure, we have developed a multi-layer architected core design that facilitates significant deformation beyond the initial peak load, yielding a larger energy dissipation during impact and other extreme loading scenarios. We utilize the concept of pseudo-bistability of truncated cone unit cells to achieve elastic buckling for energy dissipation and shape recovery of core structures. 2) Tailoring of sandwich composite facings: Our objective is to establish the influence of fiber architecture on moisture diffusion pathways in FRPC facings for enabling damage tolerant facing designs. To that end, we have evaluated the moisture kinetics in FRPCs by developing micromechanics based computational models within FEM. We have explained the effect of tortuous diffusion pathways that manifest within FRPCs due to internal fiber architectures. Finally, we established the relationship between tortuosity and diffusivity that can be used for studying moisture diffusion in other FRPCs.


Author(s):  
H R Williams ◽  
R S Trask ◽  
I P Bond

Design and certification of novel self-healing aerospace structures was explored by reviewing the suitability of conventional deterministic certification approaches. A sandwich structure with a vascular network self-healing system was used as a case study. A novel probabilistic approach using a Monte Carlo method to generate an overall probability of structural failure yields notable new insights into design of self-healing systems, including a drive for a faster healing time of less than two flight hours. In the case study considered, a mature self-healing system could be expected to reduce the probability of structural failure (compared to a conventional damage-tolerant construction) by almost an order of magnitude. In a risk-based framework this could be traded against simplified maintenance activity (to save cost) and/or increased allowable stress (to allow a lighter structure). The first estimate of the increase in design allowable stresses permitted by a self-healing system is around 8 per cent, with a self-healing system much lighter than previously envisaged. It is thought these methods and conclusions could have wider application to self-healing and conventional high-performance composite structures.


2004 ◽  
Vol 108 (1089) ◽  
pp. 541-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. O. Davies ◽  
R. Olsson

The problem of impact damage in laminated composite structures, and the consequent reduction in residual strength, has been a topic of continual research for over two decades. The number of journal papers on the subject now runs into four figures and most have been conscientiously reviewed by Abrate(1991, 1994, 1998). This review is not intended to be in the academic tradition, with emphasis on acknowledging the authorship of all the various research initiatives. Instead we present our opinions so that the reader can appreciate our current understanding of the problem, our capability of predicting by analysis, and the scope of the design tools for avoiding structural damage, or at least designing damage tolerant aerospace structures.


2014 ◽  
Vol 891-892 ◽  
pp. 1597-1602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabil Chowdhury ◽  
Wing Kong Chiu ◽  
John Wang

A review of some of the various fatigue models introduced over the years for both metallic materials, in particular aluminium alloys followed by fatigue and durability concerns associated with composite materials. The move towards light weight and high stiffness structures that have good fatigue durability and corrosion resistance has led to the rapid move from metal structures to composite structures. With this brings the added concern of certifying new components as the damage mechanisms and failure modes in metals differ significantly than composite materials such as carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP). The certification philosophy for composites must meet the same structural integrity, safety and durability requirements as that of metals. Hence this is where the challenge now lies. Substantial work has been conducted in the reparability of composite structures through bonding using various adherend thicknesses and joint types and has been shown to have higher durability than mechanically fastened repairs for thin adherends however these are currently unacceptable repair methods as they cannot be certified. Repairs are designed on the basis that the repair efficiency can be predicted and should be designed conservatively with respect to the various failure modes and include the surrounding structure.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (154) ◽  
pp. 20180965 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Robson Brown ◽  
D. Bacheva ◽  
R. S. Trask

In Nature, despite the diversity of materials, patterns and structural designs, the majority of biomineralized systems share a common feature: the incorporation of multiple sets of discrete elements across different length scales. This paper is the first to assess whether the design features observed in the hexactinellid sea sponge Euplectella aspergillum can be transferred and implemented for the development of new structurally efficient engineering architectures manufactured by three-dimensional (3D) additive manufacturing (AM). We present an investigation into the design and survival strategies found in the biological system and evaluate their translation into a scaled engineering analogue assessed experimentally and through finite-element (FE) simulations. Discrete sections of the skeletal lattice were evaluated and tested in an in situ compression fixture using micro-computed tomography (μCT). This methodology permitted the characterization of the hierarchical organization of the siliceous skeleton; a multi-layered arrangement with a fusion between struts to improve the local energy-absorbing capabilities. It was observed that the irregular overlapping architecture of spicule–nodal point sub-structure offers unique improvements in the global strength and stiffness of the structure. The 3D data arising from the μCT of the skeleton were used to create accurate FE models and replication through 3D AM. The printed struts in the engineering analogue were homogeneous, comprising bonded ceramic granular particles (10–100 µm) with an outer epoxy infused shell. In these specimens, the compressive response of the sample was expected to be dynamic and catastrophic, but while the specimens showed a similar initiation and propagation failure pattern to E. aspergillum , the macroscopic deformation behaviour was altered from the expected predominantly brittle behaviour to a more damage tolerant quasi-brittle failure mode. In addition, the FE simulation of the printed construct predicted the same global failure response (initiation location and propagation directionality) as observed in E. aspergillum . The ability to mimic directly the complex material construction and design features in E. aspergillum is currently beyond the latest advances in AM. However, while acknowledging the material-dominated limitations, the results presented here highlight the considerable potential of direct mimicry of biomineralized lattice architectures as future light-weight damage tolerant composite structures.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
O. İnal ◽  
K.B. Katnam ◽  
P. Potluri ◽  
C. Soutis

Abstract Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites generally have a layered architecture and are commonly manufactured with thermosetting resins—making them susceptible to interlaminar fracture (i.e. delamination), which is often a major concern in structurally critical applications. As a result, various approaches have been explored to enhance interlaminar fracture resistance. This review focuses on third-phase toughener inclusions, which offer opportunities to create damage resistant and damage tolerant structures without significantly adding weight or reducing in-plane mechanical properties. These toughener inclusions, typically introduced in the interlaminar regions, are divided into two categories herein: particle fillers and non-woven fibre veils. The advantages and limitations of both types are discussed, and the potential of the two approaches is evaluated using published data, aiming to provide an overview of the current understanding and challenges in designing and manufacturing safe and reliable composite structures.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 296
Author(s):  
Raffael Bogenfeld ◽  
Christopher Gorsky

The behavior of impact damaged composite laminates under cyclic load is crucial to achieve a damage tolerant design of composite structures. A sufficient residual strength has to be ensured throughout the entire structural service life. In this study, a set of 27 impacted coupon specimens is subjected to quasi-static and cyclic compression load. After long intervals without detectable damage growth, the specimens fail through the sudden lateral propagation of delamination and fiber kink bands within few load cycles. Ultrasonic inspections were used to reveal the damage size after certain cycle intervals. Through continuous dent depth measurements during the cyclic tests, the evolution of the dent visibility was monitored. These measurements revealed a relaxation of the indentation of up to 90% before ultimate failure occurs. Due to the distinct relaxation and the short growth interval before ultimate failure, this study confirms the no-growth design approach as the preferred method to account for the damage tolerance of stiffened, compression-loaded composite laminates.


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