Development of a passive SHM impact damage detection method for monitoring composite aerospace structures

Safety and reliability of aircraft structures are of main concern within the aerospace industry, preferably without influencing the availability of the aircraft and maintenance and operation costs. As damages in composites can be hard to detect, methods are being developed to detect damages which can potentially lead to a (catastrophic) failure...

Sustainability Integration in Engineering Practice: A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Study for the Case Study of a Wing Rib

Having seen exponential growth in demand for air travel, the aviation industry has found itself trying to find a balance between economic growth, technological development, and environmental sustainability. This saw a shift in attention towards materials such as fiber reinforced composites, predominantly thermoset in the past with higher...

Discontinuous Long Fibre Reinforced Thermoplastic for Additive Manufacturing

Current large-scale additive manufacturing extruders use short reinforcing fibre-filled thermoplastic pellets, which marginally improve the mechanical performance but are too short to exploit the strength of the fibres fully. Long fibre pellets have much higher potential strength, and the development of higher strength materials could create...

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...

Reducing production cost in offshore wind turbine tower design

The objective of the thesis was to evaluate the cost reductions and tower design when production costs are included in the design process of an offshore wind turbine tower. First, a tower cost model had to be developed. Then, based on the findings, a cost optimization model was built with the tower design software from Siemens Gamesa Renewable...

Disassembly of fusion bonded thermoplastic composite joints aided by induction heating: Effects of induction heating on disassembly force and damage patterns

Disassembly of fusion bonded joints aided by induction heating was investigated. Single-lap shear experiments were performed while heating the joint with an induction coil to research the effect on force required and damage inflicted during disassembly. Co-consolidated CF/PEEK samples with and without a metal mesh susceptor and ultrasonically...

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...

Damage Tolerant Design for Additive Manufacturing: An experimental study on the fatigue behaviour of stretch dominated AlSi10Mg multiple load path specimens

To expand the use of additive manufacturing in aerospace towards more critical applications, it is required to design parts in a damage tolerant context. Therefore, the damage tolerance of additive manufactured multiple load path structures is assessed by analysing the fatigue life and damage propagation of components with increasing redundancy....

Reliability modelling for Aircraft Component Availability Management

Global and local aviation traffic is growing while economic and performance pressures on the industry are increasing. As a consequence, airlines try to maximise their fleet utilization. Airline operators and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) providers therefore require as much insight as possible in factors affecting component reliability...

Prediction of Fatigue Crack Growth and Damage Directionality in Non-Conventional Fibre Metal Laminates

This thesis presents a model that is able to predict fatigue crack growth and damage directionality in non-conventional Fibre Metal Laminates (FMLs) in CentreCracked Tension (CCT) specimens. Non-conventional FMLs encompass all FMLs other than standardised ones such as GLARE. FMLs can be made non-conventional by using multiple fibre types, any...

Re-designing EX-CORE for large scale automotive manufacturing: Reducing cure cycle times of EX-CORE

EX-CORE, a novel foam core material developed by Donkervoort Automobielen B.V., allows the creation of complexly shaped sandwich structures in a one-shot out-of-autoclave manufacturing process. Products with small tolerances and high surface quality on all surfaces can be obtained. The EX-CORE technology has achieved its intended goal at...

Characterization of the electrical properties of injection molded carbon nanocomposites

Incorporating carbon nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes into a polymer matrix not only enhances the mechanical properties of the composite, but also induces good electrical properties. This makes carbon nanocomposite interesting for potential electronic applications, such as electromagnetic interference shielding by means of creating...

Open-Mold Polyurethane Injection Bonding Process for Modular Exterior Automotive Parts: Experimental Verification of a Subframe for a Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic Roof with Class-A Surface Finish

The development and production of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) exterior parts with Class-A surface finish in the automotive industry comes with challenges. Next to the structural design of the components, the surface quality as well as the joining technique to the body-in-white and the Mercedes-AMG specific factory integration into the...

Relating Process Parameters to X-Core Properties through Experimental Testing and Modelling: Gaining an In-Depth Understanding of the X-Core Cure Process

Besides building ultra-lightweight sportscars, Donkervoort Automobielen B.V. is developing a novel core material to be applied in complex shaped composite sandwich structures. This material goes by the name of X-Core and has the unique capability of generating the pressure required for facesheet consolidation, enabling a one-shot manufacturing...

Saving weight and increasing performance by introducing a composite gangway for the Ampelmann system: Creating a producible and certifiable design

With a changing market for offshore crew transfer systems the current Ampelmann systems are vulnerable for competitors. One of the downsides of the current system is its influence on the ship due to the system mass. A lightweight re-design of the current steel gangway using composites could start an overall weight decrease. A composite gangway...