Quasi-static and Fatigue Strength of Helically Wrapped Structures

A Helically wrapped structure is a hollow pipe structure that is made from a metal strip and the overlapping interfaces are adhesively joined. It is yet unknown how to determine the quasi-static strength and predict the fatigue life of this structure. A method was developed to determine whether either the adherend or the adhesive is critical to...

The Application of a Composite Sandwich Design for the Undershield of a Structural Automotive REESS

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, electrification is the biggest trend in the current-day automotive industry. In this transition, important topics are efficiency and weight reduction. This study focuses on the application of composite materials for the undershield of an automotive rechargeable energy storage system (REESS). In this...

Void formation during RTM: An experimental and analytical study on the influence of bundle porosity on void formation during liquid composite molding in woven fabrics

Mechanical air entrapment, void compression and void dissolution are the main mechanisms behind void formation in liquid composite molding. Mechanical air entrapment is induced by the highly non-uniform geometry at the meso- and micro-scale and the heterogeneous properties of the reinforcing material. This results in differences in the velocity...

Design of a Scalable Automated Manufacturing Method for Composite Iso-truss Structures

The IsoTruss is an interesting continuous fibre reinforced polymer composite design which is closely related to open lattice composite structures, although it is currently aimed mostly at civil applications. While it currently lacks applicability to the aerospace sector, its production process is easier to automate (or change the shape input...

Identification of mine blast interaction pressure on excited plates: Using transient adjoint optimization for solving the inverse problems

Mines and improvised explosive devices are the cause of many mortalities of vehicle occupants. Both experimental and numerical research in this field aims to improve the safety of military vehicles. TNO has advanced Finite Element (FE) models to simulate such events. The numerical research is done to better understand mine blasts. Another aim is...

Research on the Applicability of Metal Foam Based Sandwich Materials for Friction Stir Welded Ship Structures with Sufficient Fatigue Life Time

Research to analyse and/or develop novel materials and techniques is necessary to address competition and safeguard craftmanship in shipbuilding. In this master thesis, two new approaches to reduce the production and maintenance costs are studied: {metal foam core, metal face sheet} sandwich materials and corner adstir fillet stationary shoulder...

Induction Welded Repairs in Carbon Fiber Thermoplastic Aircraft Structures

This master thesis research investigates the possibility to repair carbon fiber thermoplastic aircraft<br/>structures using induction welding. Carbon fiber is conductive and heats up when placed inside an<br/>alternating magnetic field. A generator, coil, and pressure frame are needed to perform induction<br/>welding. The support plates needed...