Thermoplastic composite stiffened structures in post-buckling

Doctoral thesis (2024)

Authors

K.S. van Dooren Group De Breuker - Aerospace Engineering
Research Group
Group De Breuker (Aerospace Engineering) (TU Delft)
Testing Finite element Welding Stiffened panels Damage tolerance Post-buckling Virtual crack closure technique Butt-joint Skin-stringer separation Thermoplastic composite
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Published Date

2024

Language

English

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Faculty

Aerospace Engineering

Department

Aerospace Structures & Materials

Research Group

Group De Breuker

Abstract

The aeronautical industry has set ambitious goals to reduce its environmental impact and become sustainable. Addressing rising emissions involves strategies such as reducing structural weight, due to its direct impact on fuel consumption, and the use of new materials and manufacturing techniques. Research and development on thermoplastic composites has seen an uprise due to their mechanical properties and sustainability benefits. It enables costeffective, innovative manufacturing techniques, less manufacturing waste and recyclability. This has led to the launch of several projects utilising thermoplastics, such as TAPAS 1 and 2 in The Netherlands, and the Clean Sky 2 project STUNNING. The TAPAS projects focussed on co-consolidated structures with the butt-joint technique, while STUNNING developed and manufactured a lower half of the multifunctional fuselage demonstrator, one of the world’s largest thermoplastic structures.
This thesis investigates the post-buckling and skin-stringer separation behaviour of thermoplastic composite structures, with a combined experimental and numerical methodology. Allowing structures to buckle below the ultimate load can lead to considerable weight savings, however, the failure of composite structures in post-buckling is complex and usually catastrophic. This research intends to close the knowledge gap on thermoplastic composites in post-buckling, contributing to the goal of sustainable structures allowed to operate in post-buckling....