| 1. |
- Akbarpour, Sahar, 1980-
(author)
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Enhanced Composite Joint Performance through Interlacement of Metal Inserts
- 2021
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The work in this thesis investigates bolted joints in fibre reinforced composites with particular focus on a novel insert concept. The concept is characterised by replacing all composite plies with stacked metal patches, locally around a bolt hole, so that they jointly form a solid metal reinforcement. An extensive experimental study is presented together with finite element analysis of the studied cases.Reinforcing bolt holes with high-strength metals improves the bearing load capacity of the composite laminates. True enhancement of the joint performance however requires that the open-hole tensile strength is improved as well. The work started with tests of pin-loaded and open-hole tensile specimens with inserts, and significant improvement of the bearing load capacity was found. The initial tests enabled more informed design, and insert configurations having sufficient open-hole tensile strength could thereby be manufactured and tested. In parallel, composite-metal joints were numerically modelled to simulate and analyse the mechanical performance of the joints and gain a better understanding of the governing damage mechanisms.The performance of the joints was eventually investigated by means of experiments on single-shear, single- and double-bolt specimens, with and without inserts. The allowable bolt distance and the influence from the bolt tightening torque were also examined.The initial samples had inserts of stainless steel. Later, specimens with titanium alloy inserts were also included in the test series. Various insert configurations were designed to study the effects of different features in the composite-metal bond lines. The numerical simulations of the composite--metal interfaces were performed with two types of models, one joining the two materials directly to each other, without modelling any adhesive film in between, and the other including an elastic representation of the adhesive layer. The experimental results were then used to support verification of the results from the simulations.The final assessment of the concept was performed on insert configurations designed either for pure tensile loading or for more general (bi-directional) loading conditions, and the bearing load capacity, open-hole tensile strength and the performance of bolted joints were compared for cases with different inserts. While higher bearing strength improvement was achieved when the holes were reinforced with inserts of stainless steel, reinforcement with inserts of titanium was even more successful since it improved virtually all studied aspects of the joints considerably.
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| 2. |
- Akbarpour, Sahar, et al.
(author)
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Enhancing the performance of bolted joints in composites by use of patched steel or titanium inserts
- 2021
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- A new insert concept that interlaces metal inserts into composite laminates has earlier been shown to improve the relatively poor bearing strength of holes in fibre reinforced polymer composites, and it is here further and more thoroughly investigated. The concept was invented to increase the efficiency of joints with mechanical fasteners in composite materials and this work presents experiments on double bolt joints with inserts made of either stainless steel or a titanium (Ti) alloy. In particular the work compares different implementations of the insert concept by reinforcing one or two holes in double bolt joints, and the effect of using different metals in the inserts. Some complementary tests on pin-loaded specimens and open hole tensile specimens are also performed and compared, also with some results reported previously. Considerable improvements in the bearing load capacity, i.e. 50%-60% or 35%-45%, is attained. The open-hole tensile strength is also improved considerably (almost 30%) when the holes are reinforced with Ti inserts. The fact that the inserts can improve not only the bearing strength but also the performance in open-hole tension implies that the Ti inserts bring nothing but positive effects to the strength of the joints. The test results from single-shear double-bolt specimens with inserts at one hole showed improved strengths of 30% and 20% for specimens with steel and Ti inserts, respectively. Finally, an impressive strength improvement of 40-45% is achieved for single-shear double-bolt specimens having both holes reinforced with inserts of either steel or Ti.
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| 3. |
- Akbarpour, Sahar, et al.
(author)
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Enhancing the performance of bolted joints in composites by use of patched steel or titanium inserts
- 2021
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In: Composite structures. - : Elsevier BV. - 0263-8223 .- 1879-1085. ; 275
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A new insert concept that interlaces metal inserts into composite laminates has earlier been shown to improve the relatively poor bearing strength of holes in fibre reinforced polymer composites, and it is here further and more thoroughly investigated. The concept was invented to increase the efficiency of joints with mechanical fasteners in composite materials and this work presents experiments on double-bolt joints with inserts made of either stainless steel or a titanium (Ti) alloy. In particular the work compares different implementations of the insert concept by reinforcing one or two holes in double bolt joints, and the effect of using different metals in the inserts. Some complementary tests on pin-loaded specimens and open hole tensile specimens are also performed and compared, partly with results that were reported previously. Considerable improvements of the bearing load capacity are attained, i.e. 50%-60% for steel and 35%-45% for Ti, compared to references. The open-hole tensile strength is also improved considerably (almost 30%) when the holes are reinforced with Ti inserts. The fact that the inserts can improve not only the bearing strength but also the performance in open-hole tension implies that the Ti inserts bring nothing but positive effects to the strength of the joints. The test results from single-shear double-bolt specimens with inserts at one hole showed improved strengths of 30% and 20% for specimens with steel and Ti inserts, respectively. Finally, an impressive strength improvement of 40-45% is achieved for single-shear double-bolt specimens having both holes reinforced with inserts of either steel or Ti.
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| 4. |
- Akbarpour, Sahar, et al.
(author)
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Experimental investigation and numerical analysis of multi-material interfaces related to a composite joint concept
- 2021
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- An insert concept for reinforcing bolt-holes with high strength metals was previously introduced by the authors, where inserts are anchored in composite laminates through interlacement of composite plies and thin metal patches. The resulting finger-joints must be strong enough to avoid composite-metal debonding happening before bearing failure at the bolt-hole. The strength of the composite-metal interfaces is thus crucial for successful implementation of the insert concept. The paper presents an experimental study investigating the strength of various interface geometries between a prepreg composite material and stainless steel or titanium alloy inserts. In addition to the experimental work, finite element simulations are performed to analyse the stresses at the interfaces. The results indicate that the stress concentrations at multi-material corner points govern the failure and that the strength can be enhanced by expedient design.
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| 5. |
- Akbarpour, Sahar, et al.
(author)
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Strength improvement of bolted joints in composite materials by use of patched metal inserts
- 2020
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In: Composite structures. - : Elsevier BV. - 0263-8223 .- 1879-1085. ; 52
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Metal inserts are occasionally used to improve bearing load capacity of bolted joints in laminated composite materials. This paper investigates a new reinforcement concept where inserts are built by locally replacing composite plies with metal patches of various diameters, surrounding the holes. The inserts are built during composite manufacturing by alternately placing the metal patches through the thickness of the laminate at locations where holes are to be drilled after consolidation. An extensive experimental study including pin‐ loaded, open–hole tensile, and single‐shear testing of bolted specimens is presented. Considerable improve- ment of the bearing strength – 50‐60% – is attained for pin‐loaded specimens with inserts, demonstrating the potential of the reinforcement concept. The open–hole tensile tests show that the by‐pass strength can be maintained or even improved with up to 20% if the inserts are properly designed. Finally, the results from the single‐shear tests of bolted joints show more than 25% improvement in strength for reinforced single‐ and double‐bolt specimens. It is possible that the inserts would maintain clamping pressure over time, which could then almost double the imrovement (47%) for bolted joints.
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| 6. |
- Ekermann, Tomas, 1984-
(author)
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Testing and analysis of composites with 3D woven reinforcement
- 2023
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Composites with three-dimensional (3D) reinforcement have several benefits, compared to laminated composites. Their through-thickness reinforcement increase the out-of-plane properties significantly and could eliminate problems with delaminations. Also, these composites have proven to have great damage tolerance and energy absorption. However, their complex yarn architectures make it challenging to predict their mechanical response and performance.In this thesis different aspects of composites with 3D woven reinforcement are explored. The focus is on a specific yarn architecture, called fully interlaced 3D weave. The results are however not only limited to that specific 3D reinforcement but could to a certain extent also be applicable to 3D reinforcement in general.Preforms with fully interlaced 3D weaves were manufactured and impregnated with epoxy. These were then examined in great detail with computer tomography (CT) to study the internal yarn architecture after impregnation. Analysis showed that the yarns were quite significantly distorted by the through-thickness compression during impregnation. The distortion was attributed to the relatively sparse weave, not supporting the through-thickness reinforcement, which therefore distorts and brings the rest of the yarns along with it. In parallel, a simulation model of the internal geometry of the manufactured material was developed. The simulation model was however not designed to include the distortions encountered in the physical material.The manufactured material and its corresponding model was tested in a tensile test setup. Two different thicknesses of the material was manufactured as well as a corresponding composite with two-dimensional (2D) reinforcement. Results showed that the material with 2D reinforcement was stiffer and stronger than the ones with 3D reinforcement, which was attributed to the lower crimp in the 2D reinforcement. A difference in stiffness between the two 3D weaves was also found and addressed to the larger amount of surface layer in the thinner weave, where vertical weft yarns are aligned with the warp direction and contributing to the overall stiffness in that direction. Failure analysis of specimens tested in the warp direction showed that initial cracks form in the boundaries of vertical weft yarns, close to the material surface. For specimens tested in the horizontal weft direction, initial cracks were found through the vertical weft yarns at the surfaces. Both these findings were supported by results from the simulation model.An application for composites with fully interlaced 3D weave was also explored, where it was integrated as a fillet in a composite T-joint. The scope here was to make a 3D reinforced fillet, having low transverse thermal expansion which would decrease the residual stresses in the fillet after curing. T-joints with conventional fillets and fillets with 3D woven reinforcement were manufactured and tested in a pull-off test. Results showed that T-joints with conventional fillets had higher strength, but also higher spread, than the ones with 3D reinforcement. The higher strength of T-joints with conventional fillets was attributed to their better ability to adapt to the T-joint cavity, while the fit was not as good for the 3D fillets. The lower spread in strength of the T-joints with 3D fillets was attributed to their lower sensitivity to minor flaws such as voids inside the fillet.
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| 7. |
- Hörberg, Erik, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Moisture effect on shape distortions of curved quasi-isotropic prepreg composite laminates
- 2021
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In: Composites. Part A, Applied science and manufacturing. - : Elsevier BV. - 1359-835X .- 1878-5840. ; 145
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The influence from moisture on shape distortion of curved thermoset composite laminates is investigated experimentally. The objects of study are L-shaped carbon/epoxy specimens with a quasi-isotropic layup and a thickness varying between 1 and 12 mm. The effect on the shape distortion is quantified by means of angle measurements vs. accelerated moisture uptake utilising a climate chamber at 90 ?C and 95% relative humidity. The results show a strong dependence from laminate moisture content ? the effect is in fact in the same order of magnitude as the spring-in from thermal and chemical shrinkage during curing. Moisture does thus not only affect the spring-in angle but also has to be taken into consideration, and be carefully controlled, when assessing shape distortions due to other parameters. Finally, a closed form expression based on the experimental results is presented, predicting how the bracket angle varies with the specimen thickness and moisture content.
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| 8. |
- Oddy, Carolyn, 1994, et al.
(author)
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A framework for macroscale modelling of inelastic deformations in 3D-woven composites
- 2021
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In: Mechanics of Materials. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-6636 .- 1872-7743. ; 160
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The use of 3D-woven composite materials has shown promising results. Along with weight-efficient stiffness and strength, they have demonstrated encouraging out of plane properties, damage tolerance and energy absorption capabilities. The widespread adoption of 3D-woven composites in industry however, requires the development of efficient computational models that can capture the material behaviour. The following work proposes a framework for modelling the mechanical response of 3D-woven composites on the macroscale. This flexible and thermodynamically consistent framework, decomposes the stress and strain tensors into two main parts motivated by the material architecture. The first is governed by the material behaviour along the reinforcement directions while the second is driven by shear behaviours. This division allows for the straightforward addition and modification of various inelastic phenomena observed in 3D-woven composites. In order to demonstrate the applicability of the framework, focus is given to predicting the material response of a 3D glass fibre reinforced epoxy composite. Prominent non-linearities are noted under shear loading and loading along the horizontal weft yarns. The behaviour under tensile loading along the weft yarns is captured using a Norton style viscoelasticity model. The non-linear shear response is introduced using a crystal plasticity inspired approach. Specifically, viscoelasticity is driven on localised slip planes defined by the material architecture. The viscous parameters are calibrated against experimental results and off axis tensile tests are used to validate the model.
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| 9. |
- Rajput, Moeen S, et al.
(author)
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Evaluation of test methods and face-sheet thickness effects in damage tolerance assessment of composite sandwich plates
- 2022
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In: Journal of Sandwich Structures and Materials. - : SAGE Publications. - 1099-6362 .- 1530-7972. ; 24:2, s. 1340-1366
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Composite sandwich materials provide high bending performance-to-weight ratios. However, these materials are vulnerable to impact damages which can drastically reduce their load-bearing capability. Presently there is a lack of standardised test methods for impact assessment. This study compares three different test methods for impact assessment; single skin compression after impact (CAI-SS), sandwich compression after impact (CAI-SW) and four-point bending-after-impact (BAI). The CAI-SS test method shows high compressive strength and strain at failure and the tesr is relatively easy to evaluate. For finite size plates with significant impact damage, the CAI-SS test method is recommended for post impact strength assessment. For large sandwich panels with relatively small impact damages the CAI-SW test method could be more relevant since it includes effects of panel asymmetry generated from the impact damage. The BAI test method may be recommended as an alternative to CAI but quite long specimens are required in order to assure compressive failure in the tested face-sheet, making the test both demanding and expensive. On the other hand, lower load levels are required to break the specimens and there is less need for precise machining during specimen manufacturing. A finite element model including progressive damage evolution was used to estimate the post impact strength. The simulations showed generally good agreement with the experiments.
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