Through Thickness-Reinforced Composites

A special issue of Journal of Composites Science (ISSN 2504-477X). This special issue belongs to the section "Composites Manufacturing and Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2022) | Viewed by 5405

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
University of Bristol, Bristol Composites Institute, Queen’s Building, University Walk, BS8 1TR
Interests: Z-pinning; tufting; composites damage tolerance; resin toughening; cure monitoring

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Guest Editor
University of Bristol, Bristol Composites Institute, Queen’s Building, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TR, UK
Interests: composites failure mechanisms; impact; high rate effects; fatigue; cohesive zone formulations; simulation

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Guest Editor
Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Bristol, University Walk, Clifton BS8 1TR, Bristol, UK
Interests: composite materials/structures; probabilistic aspects of material fatigue; aeroelastic design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Through-the-thickness reinforcement techniques applied to fibre reinforced polymer matrix composites include Z-pinning, tufting, stapling and various forms of stitching. When applied in carefully selected locations within a composite structure, these techniques have been shown to be highly effective in limiting or slowing down the growth of delaminations. 

What still remains to be established is how this delamination reduction can be achieved without a detriment to the in-plane dominated load resistance and how the manufacturability and the cost effectiveness of the different approaches compare to each other and to the rapidly developing 3D weaving techniques.

Hybridisation of materials used for the through-the-thickness elements offers new levels of multifunctionality to be exploited in damage tolerance, damage sensing and new ways to improve processing efficiency in manufacture. Experimentally validated modelling approaches being developed for the evaluation of all these aspects offer the most efficient means of selection and valid comparisons within the spectrum of the technologies and hence become the most effective design tool in this context.

Prof. Ivana K Partridge
Prof. Stephen R. Hallett
Dr. Giuliano Allegri
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Z-pinning
  • Tufting
  • Stitching
  • 3D weaving
  • Automated manufacturing
  • Mechanical performance
  • Simulation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 5139 KiB  
Article
Flexural Behaviour of Foam Cored Sandwich Structures with Through-Thickness Reinforcements
by Ghilané Bragagnolo, Andrew D. Crocombe, Stephen L. Ogin, Alessandro Sordon and Iman Mohagheghian
J. Compos. Sci. 2023, 7(3), 125; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs7030125 - 16 Mar 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1748
Abstract
Composite sandwich structures are well-suited for applications requiring high bending strength, flexural rigidity, crashworthiness, and light weight. However, skin–core debonding and core failure remain a barrier to optimal structural performance when polymeric foams are used as core materials. Suppressing or compartmentalising these failure [...] Read more.
Composite sandwich structures are well-suited for applications requiring high bending strength, flexural rigidity, crashworthiness, and light weight. However, skin–core debonding and core failure remain a barrier to optimal structural performance when polymeric foams are used as core materials. Suppressing or compartmentalising these failure modes can enhance the structural integrity of sandwich structures. In this paper, the flexural response of a sandwich structure was improved by adding carbon fibre-reinforced plastic in the form of through-thickness ribs during the manufacturing process. The effect of the position of the ribs was investigated using a quasi-static three-point bend test. A camera was used to capture failure events, while the digital image correlation technique provided the full-strain field at different stages of loading. Improved flexural performance was obtained when a reinforcement was placed on either side of the loading roller. With this configuration, skin–core debonding was restricted to a confined portion of the panel, resulting in a more localised and stable fracture process, which involved enhanced foam crushing and hardening. A simple FEA approach has been adopted in this paper and has proven to be an effective approach for capturing the details of the failure process, including the debonding in the composite foam structures, without the need for complex and computationally expensive interface modelling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Through Thickness-Reinforced Composites)
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12 pages, 4750 KiB  
Article
Characterization and Numerical Modelling of Through-Thickness Metallic-Pin-Reinforced Fibre/Thermoplastic Composites under Bending Loading
by Holger Böhm, Hailun Zhang, Benjamin Gröger, Andreas Hornig and Maik Gude
J. Compos. Sci. 2020, 4(4), 188; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs4040188 - 16 Dec 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2710
Abstract
Through-Thickness Reinforcement (TTR) technologies are well suited to improving the mechanical properties in the out-of-plane direction of fibre-reinforced composites. However, besides the enhancement of delamination resistance and thus the prevention of overall catastrophic failure, the presence of additional reinforcement elements in the composite [...] Read more.
Through-Thickness Reinforcement (TTR) technologies are well suited to improving the mechanical properties in the out-of-plane direction of fibre-reinforced composites. However, besides the enhancement of delamination resistance and thus the prevention of overall catastrophic failure, the presence of additional reinforcement elements in the composite structure affects also the mechanical properties in in-plane direction. In this work, the flexural behaviour of a glass-polypropylene (GF/PP) hybrid yarn-based composite with TTR in form of metallic pins has been investigated experimentally and numerically. The insertion of the metallic pins is realized via thermoactivated pinning technology (TAP). In four-point-bending tests, it is shown that the flexural stiffness and strength decreases with an increase of the overall pin density. Hereby, it is observed that the pins act as crack initiators. For numerical modelling on specimen level, a continuum damage mechanic (CDM) model is used to predict the nonlinear deformation response of the composite, as well as fibre fracture and matrix cracking. A debonding and slipping phenomena of the pin in the composite is modelled by a cohesive zone modelling approach for the interface between pin and composite. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Through Thickness-Reinforced Composites)
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