FROM MATERIALS TO STRUCTURES: A SWEDISH VIEW ON COMPOSITE MATERIALS RESEARCH
Renaud Gutkin, Senior Scientist, Swerea SICOMP
November 5, 2015, 10:00 am, NASA Langley, Bldg 1205, Rm 222
Abstract:
With the introduction of composite materials in new applications, the need to develop new material formulations, new manufacturing techniques and new simulation methods has never been so great. This presentation will show three selected examples on the work performed at Swerea SICOMP to support the Swedish industry in introducing composites in high temperature applications, low cost manufacturing techniques and energy absorbing structures.
- High temperature composites with a new polyimide formulation exhibiting a Tg above 360˚C have been developed (commercially available under the NEXIMID® MHT-R tradename). Let alone the significantly higher Tg, it will be shown that laminates made of CFRP T650/MHT-R have comparable or even better mechanical properties than other polyimide-based systems.
- Being able to predict consolidation of OoA prepregs, vacuum assisted infusion or press forming of SMC using a single FE implementation is desirable to optimize the final properties of a structure. A generic numerical framework able to handle any combination of simultaneous and interacting physical processes, at different temporal and spatial scales, happening during processing is presented. It is based on generalised two phase continuum description of a fluid-solid-void mixture allowing for phase compressibility and for micromechanical processes together with macroscopic Darcy’s flow to be captured.
- Finally, the introduction of composites in crash absorbing structures require the development of material models that can correctly represent compressive damage growth. Going beyond failure initiation predicted by Mohr-Coulomb criterion and fibre kinking theory, it will be shown that longitudinal and transverse compressive damage growth can be physically captured and that input parameters can be easily measured without the need for compressive toughness tests.
Bio:
Renaud is currently a senior scientist and team leader at Swerea SICOMP in Sweden. His research focuses on structural analysis of composites with a particular focus on damage and fracture. Renaud graduated from École Polytechnique in France and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) of Stockholm in 2007 and hold a PhD in Aeronautics from Imperial College London, UK (2010).