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Planar delamination behaviour of CFRP panels under quasi-static out-of-plane loading

Tu, W. (author), Pascoe, J.A. (author), Alderliesten, R.C. (author)

In this study, a novel experimental approach was devised to investigate shear dominant and combined opening-shear planar delamination behaviours in composite laminates subjected to quasi-static out-of-plane loading. The patterns of planar delamination growth were depicted through different inspection techniques, including digital image...

journal article 2024

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Effect of shear stresses on fibre direction tensile failure using a new simple and reliable test method with thin plies

Jalalvand, Meisam (author), Fotouhi, M. (author), Wisnom, Michael R. (author)

A new method of creating in-plane combined tension-shear stress states using only tensile loading is proposed. Thin-ply angle-ply carbon/epoxy laminates are sandwiched between unidirectional glass layers to eliminate any stress concentration around the samples ends and gripping zone. Use of the thin plies successfully suppresses early...

journal article 2024

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Self-catalysed frontal polymerisation enables fast and low-energy processing of fibre reinforced polymer composites

Staal, Jeroen (author), Caglar, Baris (author), Michaud, Véronique (author)

Frontal polymerisation has the potential to bring unprecedented reductions in energy demand and process time to produce fibre reinforced polymer composites. Production of epoxy-based fibre reinforced polymer parts with high fibre volume content, commonly encountered in industry, is however hindered by the heat sink created by the fibres and...

journal article 2024

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Does hygrothermal degradation of Mode I fatigue delamination resistance in carbon fibre reinforced polymer laminates depend on the ageing conditions?

Yao, Liaojun (author), Wei, Jingchao (author), He, Zixian (author), He, Yonglyu (author), Lomov, Stepan V. (author), Alderliesten, R.C. (author)

Hygrothermal ageing has detrimental effect of the fatigue delamination growth (FDG) in carbon fibre reinforced polymer laminates, and may increase the crack growth rate by a factor of ∼5. The paper examines, how this degradation for Mode I fatigue delamination is affected by the severity of the ageing conditions. Fatigue delamination tests...

journal article 2024

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On the interlayer toughening of carbon fibre/epoxy composites using surface-activated ultra-thin PEEK films

Quan, D. (author), Wang, Guilong (author), Zhao, Guoqun (author), Alderliesten, R.C. (author)

The exceptional mechanical properties of Polyether-ether-ketone(PEEK) polymers make them ideal candidates for interlayer toughening of carbon fibre/epoxy composites. Herein, ultra-thin PEEK films with a thickness of 8μm, 18μm and 25μm were used for interlayer toughening of an aerospace-grade carbon fibre/epoxy composite. The mode-I and mode...

journal article 2023

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Thermal management in radical induced cationic frontal polymerisation for optimised processing of fibre reinforced polymers

Staal, Jeroen (author), Smit, Edgar (author), Caglar, Baris (author), Michaud, Véronique (author)

Radical induced cationic frontal polymerisation (RICFP) is considered a promising low energy method for processing of fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs). Optimisation of the local heat balance between reinforcement, epoxy resin and the surrounding mould is required to pave the way for its adaptation to an industrial processing method for high...

journal article 2023

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Interlaminar and intralaminar fracture resistance of recycled carbon fibre/PPS composites with tailored fibre/matrix adhesion

Quan, D. (author), Liu, Jiaming (author), Yao, L. (author), Dransfeld, C.A. (author), Alderliesten, R.C. (author), Zhao, Guoqun (author)

The production of advanced composites from recycled carbon fibres (rCFs) is critical for the sustainable development of carbon fibre industry. Herein, non-woven mats consisting of commingled rCFs and Polyphenylene-sulfide (PPS) fibres were compression moulded to manufacture rCF/PPS composites, with the fibre/matrix adhesion being tailored by...

journal article 2023

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Recycled carbon fibre mats for interlayer toughening of carbon fibre/epoxy composites

Quan, D. (author), Farooq, U. (author), Zhao, Guoqun (author), Dransfeld, C.A. (author), Alderliesten, R.C. (author)

Exploring routes for the effective use of recycled carbon fibres (rCFs) is critical to close the loop in the life cycle of carbon fibres. This work demonstrated a potential of using rCFs for interlayer toughening of carbon fibre/epoxy composites. Nonwoven mats based on rCFs and commingled rCFs/Polyphenylene-sulfid (PPS) fibres were used to...

journal article 2022

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Micromechanics-based multiscale progressive failure simulation of 3D woven composites under compressive loading with minimal material parameters

Zheng, T. (author), Guo, Licheng (author), Benedictus, R. (author), Pascoe, J.A. (author)

A novel micromechanics-based multiscale progressive damage model, employing minimal material parameters, is proposed in this paper to simulate the compressive failure behaviours of 3D woven composites (3DWC). The highly realistic constructions of microscopic and mesoscopic representative volume cells are accomplished, and a set of strain...

journal article 2022

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Co-curing bonding of carbon fibre/epoxy composite joints with excellent structure integrity using carbon fibre/PEEK tapes

Quan, D. (author), Zhao, Guoqun (author), Scarselli, Gennaro (author), Alderliesten, R.C. (author)

A novel co-curing process was proposed for the bonding of carbon fibre/epoxy composites by replacing traditional epoxy adhesives with carbon fibre/PEEK (CF/PEEK) tapes, with an attempt to improve the structure integrity. The lap-shear strengths, fatigue resistance and mode-I and mode-II fracture behaviour of the co-cured joints at 22 °C and...

journal article 2022

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A reliable progressive fatigue damage model for life prediction of composite laminates incorporating an adaptive cyclic jump algorithm

Zheng, T. (author), Guo, Licheng (author), Wang, Zhenxin (author), Benedictus, R. (author), Pascoe, J.A. (author)

In this paper, a reliable progressive fatigue damage model (PFDM) for predicting the fatigue life of composite laminates is proposed by combining the normalized fatigue life model, nonlinear residual degradation models and fatigue-improved Puck criterion. To balance the accuracy of life predictions and computational efficiency, an adaptive...

journal article 2022

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The effect of Laser-Induced deconsolidation on the compaction behavior of thermoplastic composite tapes

Çelik, O. (author), Bussink, T. (author), Peeters, D.M.J. (author), Teuwen, Julie J.E. (author), Dransfeld, C.A. (author)

The effects of laser-induced deconsolidation on the compaction process of CF/PEEK tapes were investigated. First, tapes with different degrees of deconsolidation were manufactured using a laser heater. This procedure resulted in samples with different waviness, thickness, void content and surface roughness values. Then, as-received and laser...

journal article 2021

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Deconsolidation of thermoplastic prepreg tapes during rapid laser heating

Çelik, O. (author), Choudhary, A. (author), Peeters, D.M.J. (author), Teuwen, Julie J.E. (author), Dransfeld, C.A. (author)

In this study, the effect of rapid laser heating, which is typical during laser-assisted fiber placement (LAFP), on the micro- and meso- structure of the thermoplastic tape was investigated. Thermoplastic tapes were heated above the melting temperature with different heated lengths (30 and 80 mm and heating times (0.2 and 0.8 s) in a dedicated...

journal article 2021

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Characterising microstructural organisation in unidirectional composites

Gomarasca, S. (author), Peeters, D.M.J. (author), Atli-Veltin, B. (author), Dransfeld, C.A. (author)

Understanding the three-dimensional variability of unidirectional composites is relevant to the material performance and the development of advanced material modelling strategies. This work proposes a new methodology for the characterization of unidirectional composites, showcased on carbon fibre/poly(ether-ether-ketone) tapes. Three...

journal article 2021

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On the sensitivity of the ultrasonic welding process of epoxy- to polyetheretherketone (PEEK)-based composites to the welding force and amplitude of vibrations

Tsiangou, E. (author), Teixeira De Freitas, S. (author), Benedictus, R. (author), Villegas, I.F. (author)

This paper addresses the sensitivity of the ultrasonic welding process for joining dissimilar composites to variations in either the welding force or amplitude of vibrations. For that, carbon fibre (CF)/epoxy specimens were welded to CF/polyetheretherketone (PEEK) specimens, through a polyetheretherimide (PEI) coupling layer co-cured with the...

journal article 2021

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Resin Transfer molding of High-Fluidity Polyamide-6 with modified Glass-Fabric preforms

Gomez, Colin (author), Salvatori, Damiano (author), Caglar, Baris (author), Trigueira, Robin (author), Orange, Gilles (author), Michaud, Véronique (author)

In Resin Transfer Molding (RTM), resin precursors of thermoset or, more recently, thermoplastic polymers are generally employed, raising issues related to the chemical reaction taking place during and after part processing. In this study, already polymerized polyamide-6 with low melt-viscosity (~30 Pa·s at 280 °C), is injected at low pressure...

journal article 2021

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On the sensitivity of ultrasonic welding of epoxy- to polyetheretherketone (PEEK)-based composites to the heating time during the welding process

Tsiangou, E. (author), Kupski, J.A. (author), Teixeira De Freitas, S. (author), Benedictus, R. (author), Villegas, I.F. (author)

This study aims at assessing the sensitivity of the ultrasonic welding process for joining epoxy- to thermoplastic-based composites sensitivity to the heating time. For that, carbon fibre (CF)/epoxy adherends with a co-cured PEI coupling layer were ultrasonically welded to CF/polyetheretherketone (PEEK) adherends at different heating times....

journal article 2021

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A methodology to generate design allowables of composite laminates using machine learning

Furtado, C. (author), Tavares, R. P. (author), Gomes Pereira, L.P. (author), Salgado, M. (author), Otero, F. (author), Catalanotti, G. (author), Arteiro, A. (author), Bessa, M.A. (author), Camanho, P. P. (author)

This work represents the first step towards the application of machine learning techniques in the prediction of statistical design allowables of composite laminates. Building on data generated analytically, four machine algorithms (XGBoost, Random Forests, Gaussian Processes and Artificial Neural Networks) are used to predict the notched...

journal article 2021

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The influence of inter-laminar thermal contact resistance on the cooling of material during laser assisted fiber placement

Çelik, O. (author), Hosseini, S.M.A. (author), Baran, Ismet (author), Grouve, Wouter J.B. (author), Akkerman, Remko (author), Peeters, D.M.J. (author), Teuwen, Julie J.E. (author), Dransfeld, C.A. (author)

The effect of thermal contact resistance (TCR) correlated to the degree of intimate contact (DIC) between the incoming tape and the substrate on the temperature history during laser-assisted fiber placement (LAFP) was investigated. A novel experimental methodology was designed to understand the effect with a non-contact method which did not...

journal article 2021

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Significantly enhanced structural integrity of adhesively bonded PPS and PEEK composite joints by rapidly UV-irradiating the substrates

Quan, D. (author), Alderliesten, R.C. (author), Dransfeld, C.A. (author), Tsakoniatis, Ioannis (author), Teixeira De Freitas, S. (author), Scarselli, Gennaro (author), Murphy, Neal (author), Ivanković, Alojz (author), Benedictus, R. (author)

A high-power UV-irradiation technique was proposed for the surface treatment of PPS and PEEK composites, aiming to achieve good adhesion with epoxy adhesives. The composite substrates were rapidly UV-irradiated for a duration of between 2–30s, and then bonded using an aerospace film adhesive to produce joints. Tensile lap-shear strength and...

journal article 2020