Laminate thickness and resin pressure evolution during axisymmetric liquid composite moulding with flexible tooling

This paper presents experimental observations from the filling and post-filling stages of 1D axisymmetric Resin Infusion (VARTM) and RTM Light. A series of experiments have been performed to investigate the influence of mould flexural stiffness and fill mode on fluid pressure, cavity thickness, filling stage time, and post-filling stage time. Observations are also made on the effect of those parameters on the repeatability of nominally identical experiments. This paper helps identify the circumstances where a RTM simulation would be sufficiently accurate for an RTM Light process, and consequently where a full flexible tooling simulation is necessary.     

A comprehensive filling and tooling force analysis for rigid mould LCM processes

A comprehensive tooling force analysis is presented for rigid tool Liquid Composite Moulding (LCM) processes such as Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM) and Injection/Compression Moulding (I/CM). This has been implemented within SimLCM, a generic LCM filling simulation under development at the University of Auckland. The simulation has been verified against existing analytic and semi-analytic solutions, considering fill times and clamping force due to reinforcement compaction. Industrial application is demonstrated through consideration of a fireman’s helmet, which has demonstrated the complex evolution of both local and global tooling forces during RTM and I/CM cycles. Resultant forces are computed in the closing and lateral directions, having practical benefits for design of moulds and supporting equipment. The evolution of tooling forces has been shown to be sensitive to the accuracy of the applied fibre reinforcement compaction model, which is used to predict normal and tangential stresses exerted on mould surfaces.     

Liquid crystalline texture and hydrogen bond on the thermal conductivities of intrinsic thermal conductive polymer films

Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal(PDLC)films comprising polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)and liquid crystal monomer(LCM)were successfully obtained by the method of solution casting&thermal compress-ing.LCM was distributed orderly in PVA matrix by hydrogen bond interaction,to form PVA-LCM interpenetrating-layered networks.When the mass fraction of LCM was up to 35 wt％,the corresponding in-plane thermal conductivity coefficient(λ∥)of PDLC film was significantly increased to 1.41 W m-1 K-1,about 10.8 times that of neat PVA(0.13 W m-1 K-1).High intrinsic λ//values of PDLC films were mainly attributed to the formed microscopic-ordered structures from ordered stacking of LCM,ordered arrangement of PVA chains,and their hydrogen bond interaction.This work would offer a new way to design and prepare novel intrinsic high thermal conductive polymers.     

Evaluation of eddy current testing for quality assurance and process monitoring of automated fiber placement

Standards in energy and cost efficiency are higher the ever especially in the aerospace industry. While structures made from carbon-fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) show significant advantages in regards to specific strength and lightweight design, further improvements in their production processes are essential in order for CFRP to be competitive in the future. The authors present eddy current (EC) testing as a means for quality assurance (QA) and process monitoring for CFRP parts produced by automatic fiber placement (AFP), which is one the most prevalent production methods in aerospace industry. Eddy current testing shows the potential for highly automated process monitoring that can reduce error correction and cycle time in AFP.     

Characterization of textile permeability as a function of fiber volume content with a single unidirectional injection experiment

Textile permeability is a fundamental property to describe preform impregnation in Liquid Composite Molding (LCM) processes. It depends on textile architecture and fiber volume content (FVC). Conventional methods to measure in-plane permeability are based on radial or unidirectional injection experiments performed at fixed FVC. A complete characterization involves a series of tests and requires several material samples. This study presents a novel approach to characterize permeability as a function of FVC through a unique unidirectional injection experiment with a preform containing different FVC sections. The same experimental set-up as in conventional unidirectional unsaturated permeability measurements is used with a second pressure transducer embedded in the mold in addition to the one located at the inlet gate. A fast algorithm is developed to exploit the data from the two sensors and automatically derive the permeability distribution without any need of visual flow front observations. The methodology is validated with a random fiber mat and a woven fabric. Results show that accurate permeability characterization can be achieved for both kinds of textiles.     

Flow of non-Newtonian liquid polymers through deformed composites reinforcements

The flow of non-Newtonian liquid polymers through fibrous reinforcements is a phenomenon which is often encountered during polymer composites manufacturing. In a previous work, we have proposed from a multiscale theoretical approach a method to model this phenomenon when the polymer can be regarded as a generalised Newtonian fluid [Orgéas et al. J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech. 2007; 145]. In this paper, the capability of the method is tested with power-law fluids flowing through deformed plain weave fabrics. For that purpose, the flow problem is firstly analysed at the mesoscale from numerical simulations performed on representative elementary volumes of the fabrics. The influences of both the current deformation of the fabrics and the fluid rheology on the macroscopic flow law are emphasised. Secondly, it is shown that the proposed method allows a nice fit of numerical results.     

Void formation in metal matrix composites by solidification and shrinkage of an AlSi7 matrix between densely packed particles

Particle reinforced metals are developed as heat sink materials for advanced thermal management applications. Metal matrix composites combine the high thermal conductivity of a metal with a low coefficient of thermal expansion of ceramic reinforcements. SiC and carbon diamond particle reinforced aluminum offer suitable thermal properties for heat sink applications. These composites are produced by liquid metal infiltration of a densely packed particle preform. Wettability, interface bonding strength and thermal mismatch are critical for void formation which leads to thermal fatigue damage under operation. The evolution of voids in AlSiC and AlCD has been studied by in-situ high resolution synchrotron tomography during matrix solidification. Large irregularly shaped matrix voids form during eutectic solidification. These voids help alleviate thermal expansion mismatch stresses by visco-plastic matrix deformation during cooling to RT after solidification, if sufficient interface bonding strength is assumed.     

A semi-analytical simulation strategy and its application to warpage of autoclave-processed CFRP parts

The manufacturing of composite structures is accompanied by fabrication induced deformations. Those deformations are undesirable and lead to transgression of geometric tolerances in the finished parts. In order to get the part within aspired dimensional tolerances, geometrical compensation of the tool is necessary. This often iterative conducted tooling-rework is commonly time consuming and costly. This paper presents an shell element based. semi-analytical simulation approach focusing on warpage deformations due to tool part interaction, in order to account for manufacturing induced deformations within the tool design process. Deviation measurements on test specimen level serve as inputs for the calculation of equivalent coefficients of thermal expansion according to the proposed analytical model. Thus, ‘warpage properties’ of different prepreg – tool–material combinations are determined. The use and the practicability of the developed approach is demonstrated by means of the calculation of a warpage compensated tool surface.     

Influence of peak temperature during simulation and real thermal cycles on microstructure and fracture properties of the reheated zones

The objective of this paper is to study the influence of the second peak temperature during real and simulated welding on properties of the subcritically (S), intercritically (IC) and supercritically (SC) reheated coarse grained heat affected (CGHAZ) zones. The X80 high strength pipeline microalloyed steel was subject to processing in a double-pass tandem submerged arc welding process with total heat input of 6.98 kJ/mm and thermal cycles to simulate microstructure of reheated CGHAZ zones. This involved heating to a first peak temperature (T_P1) of 1400 °C, then reheating to different second peak temperatures (T_P2) of 700, 800 and 900 °C with a constant cooling rate of 3.75 °C/s. Toughness of the simulated reheated CGHAZ regions were assessed using Charpy impact testing at 0 °C, −25 °C and −50 °C. The microstructure of the real and simulated reheated CGHAZ regions was investigated using an optical microscope and field emission scanning electron microscope. Morphology of the martensite/austenite (MA) constituent was obtained by the use of a field emission scanning electron microscope. The blocky and connected MA particles, along prior-austenite grain boundaries, act as a brittle phase for the initiation site of the brittle fracture. Charpy impact results indicated that IC CGHAZ had less absorbed energy with higher transition temperature and hardness. The SC CGHAZ region showed higher absorbed impact energy with lower hardness. Design of multipass weld joints with less IC CGHAZ regions can result in a higher toughness property.     

Analysis of the elastic properties of an interpenetrating AlSi12-Al2O3 composite using ultrasound phase spectroscopy

An interpenetrating composite fabricated by squeeze-casting a eutectic aluminium-silicon alloy into a porous alumina preform is studied in this work. The preform was fabricated by pyrolysis of cellulose fibres used as pore forming agent, pressing of the green ceramic body and subsequent sintering of alumina particles. The resulting preform had both micropores within the ceramic walls and macropores between those walls, which were infiltrated by the liquid metal. Composites with alumina contents varied in the range of 18-65 vol.% were studied. Three longitudinal and three shear elastic constants of the composites were determined using ultrasound phase spectroscopy on rectangular parallelepiped samples. Complete stiffness matrix of one sample was determined by modifying the sample geometry by cutting at the corners of the sample and subsequent ultrasonic measurements. All composites exhibit a moderately anisotropic behavior, which can be attributed to a non-random pore orientation distribution caused by uni-axial pressing of the preforms prior to sintering. The experimental results are compared with several theoretical micromechanical models.     

Determination of particle size distributions and the degree of dispersion in nanocomposites

Objective of this study was the investigation of measurement techniques to determine the quality of the dispersion process of nanoparticles in polymer composites. In order to prepare the matrix suspension, alumina nanoparticles were dispersed applying shear mixing techniques in a high performance laboratory kneader. The product quality in liquid state was determined by means of dynamic light scattering (DLS) and centrifugal sedimentation analysis (CSA). However, particle measurements in carrier fluids like epoxy resin are complex and challenging. Measuring values like particle size distribution and grade of homogeneousness are strongly influenced by the sample preparation and adjustments of the measuring device. Within this study the machine settings and the formulation was analysed systematically. Hereby an identification of the key parameters and an optimisation of the measuring process were possible. Additionally, the composite was cured and analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally all measuring techniques were evaluated and compared among each other. Thus, DLS is the fastest method to measure spherically particles in the liquid matrix, CSA allows a certain deviation from the spherical shape and SEM gives a qualitative impression of the final particle size in cured composite condition.     

Dynamic capillary impact on longitudinal micro-flow in vacuum assisted impregnation and the unsaturated permeability of inner fiber tows

This paper addresses issues of the synergetic dynamic effect of capillary force on the longitudinal impregnation driven by external pressures, especially under vacuum assistance. An apparatus was designed to detect the axial infiltration along unidirectional fiber bundles which were all aligned closely to give a representation of micro-flow channel of inner fiber tows. The external driving pressures were controlled sufficiently low, 20–60 kPa, on the order of capillary pressures. Based on the analysis of infiltration velocities under different external pressures, dynamic capillary pressures can be determined experimentally. The results showed that capillary pressures, the most important force of microscopic flow through inner fiber yarns, acted as a drag force on the infiltration flow for vacuum assisted penetration into unidirectional fiber bundles. This unique drag effect is very different from traditional unsaturated infiltration, different from the compressed air driving permeation and the theoretical calculated data in this paper. Moreover, values and even signs of the dynamic capillary pressures varied with the fiber fraction of the assemblies as well as the fluid types. Further analysis demonstrated that the function of capillary pressure was closely related to the capillary number (Ca), acting as drag force when Ca larger than a critical value, and as a promotive force with smaller Ca. Consequently, unsaturated permeabilities of the unidirectional fiber bundles were estimated by taking consideration of both dynamic and quasi-static capillary pressures.     

Influence of substrate conductivity type on the thickness and composition of epitaxial layers grown by Liquid Phase Epitaxy

It is shown that the conductivity of the substrate has a non negligible effect on the thickness and composition of epitaxial layers grown by Liquid Phase Epitaxy. The growth experiments have been done on the systems GaAs/GaAs, GaAlSb/GaSb and GaInAsSb/GaSb. To insure strictly the same growth conditions the growth was done simultaneously, from the same liquid phase, on the different substrates.     

Effects of microstructure and residual stress on fatigue crack growth of stainless steel narrow gap welds

The effects of weld microstructure and residual stress distribution on the fatigue crack growth rate of stainless steel narrow gap welds were investigated. Stainless steel pipes were joined by the automated narrow gap welding process typical to nuclear piping systems. The weld fusion zone showed cellular–dendritic structures with ferrite islands in an austenitic matrix. Residual stress analysis showed large tensile stress in the inner-weld region and compressive stress in the middle of the weld. Tensile properties and the fatigue crack growth rate were measured along and across the weld thickness direction. Tensile tests showed higher strength in the weld fusion zone and the heat affected zone compared to the base metal. Within the weld fusion zone, strength was greater in the inner weld than outer weld region. Fatigue crack growth rates were several times greater in the inner weld than the outer weld region. The spatial variation of the mechanical properties is discussed in view of weld microstructure, especially dendrite orientation, and in view of the residual stress variation within the weld fusion zone. It is thought that the higher crack growth rate in the inner-weld region could be related to the large tensile residual stress despite the tortuous fatigue crack growth path.     

Numerical prediction and experimental characterisation of meso-scale-voids in liquid composite moulding

Pressure gradients that drive the resin flow during liquid composite moulding (LCM) processes can be very low while manufacturing large composite parts. Capillary pressure becomes the predominant force for tow impregnation and thus meso-scale-voids can be generated, reducing the part quality. In contrast, micro-voids are created at high resin pressure gradients. In this work, a numerical method is presented to predict the creation of meso-scale-voids and their evolution. Experimental validation is conducted by measuring void content of produced composite parts with micro-computed tomography (μ-CT). Additionally, the void content as a function of the modified capillary number Ca^* is determined and the influence of the fibre volume content in the bundles on the meso-scale- and micro-void content is studied.     

The properties of polyurethane hybrid materials based on castor oil

The goal of this work was to investigate the properties of environmentally friendly, castor oil based polyurethane hybrid materials with titanium(IV) oxide nanoparticles, as a filler, and different types of diisocyanate (toluene diisocyanate and isophorone diisocyanate). In the sample synthesis, different ratios of the reactive groups (NCO/OH), r, were used (1, 1.15 and 0.92). In the composite preparation, only toluene diisocyanate was used, and the filler particles were premixed in a glass vessel with the castor oil polyol before the reaction with diisocyanate. For all the composite samples, the r value was 1. Polyurethane formation was confirmed by ATR-FT-IR by detecting the urethane band at 1515 cm⁻¹. It was determined that the hydroxyl groups had reacted because the broad band corresponding to the OH groups (3400 cm⁻¹) was not detected or detected at a reduced intensity depending on the r value. As was expected, the presence of the unreacted NCO groups was detected only for samples with r > 1 (band at 2300 cm⁻¹, which corresponds to the existence of these groups). The dynamic mechanical measurements were performed at a temperature range from −50 °C to 100 °C at different frequencies. For investigation of reinforcement effect of filler on polymer matrix, tensile testing was applied. The glass transition temperature, T_g, was determined by DSC measurement. It was estimated that the T_g of the samples decreased as the nanofiller content increased due to the changes in the segmental mobility influenced by the interaction between the nanoparticles and polymer chains.     

Effects of Cf/C density on microstructure and properties of 3-D Cf/ZrC composites prepared by liquid metal infiltration

Three-dimensional braided carbon fiber-reinforced ZrC matrix composites, 3-D C_f/ZrC, were fabricated by Liquid metal infiltration process at 1200 °C. Porous carbon/carbon (C_f/C) composites with various densities were used as preforms, and the effects of C_f/C density on microstructure and properties of the 3-D C_f/ZrC composites were investigated. The results show that the composites are composed of carbon, ZrC and residual metal. Both microstructure and properties of the 3-D C_f/ZrC composites are apparently affected by C_f/C density. With increasing density of C_f/C preform, the density of 3-D C_f/ZrC composites decreases while the open porosity increases. The composites obtained from the C_f/C preform with a density of 1.12 g/cm³ have the best mechanical properties, with flexural strength of 286.2 ± 11.4 MPa, elastic modulus of 83.5 ± 6.8 GPa and fracture toughness of 9.2 ± 0.6 MPa m^1/2. The composites exhibit excellent ablation resistance, and the mass rate and the linear ablation rate under an oxyacetylene torch are as low as 5.1 ± 0.4 mg s⁻¹ and 1.1 ± 0.3 μm s⁻¹, respectively.     

Nanocomposites based on polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene-r-butylene)-b-polystyrene and exfoliated graphite nanoplates: Effect of nanoplatelet loading on morphology and mechanical properties

Exfoliated graphite nanoplates (xGnPs)/polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene-r-butylene)-b-polystyrene (SEBS) nanocomposites have been prepared by the simple melt-compounding approach. The structural, mechanical and viscoelastic properties of these composites were studied and compared. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) studies indicated that the processing of nanocomposites did not change the original d-spacing of xGnPs. Scanning electron microscopy observation on the fracture surfaces of the composites shows a uniform dispersion of xGnPs throughout SEBS matrix and strong interfacial adhesion between oxidized xGnPs and the matrix, which are responsible for the considerable enhancement of mechanical properties of the composites. It is found that the addition of xGnPs particles improved both the elastic modulus and storage modulus of pure SEBS significantly and the higher the xGnPs content, the higher the modulus of the nanocomposite. Moreover, the effects of dispersed xGnPs on the microphase separation of SEBS have also been investigated using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS).