This work proposes a methodology for the characterisation of complex pore features in unidirectional composite prepregs, and provides insights into the interaction between fibre architecture and pores. The method showcased allows to compare spatial distributions at a three-dimensional level, highlighting in the tape analysed a significant correspondence between regions of elevated tortuosity and increased pore fractions. Regions associated with highly tortuous meandering fibres exhibit a pronounced association with porosity located both in the bulk and at the tape surface, suggesting a strong interaction between non-collective fibre displacement and the probability of pore location. Furthermore, our study quantifies the length scale of feature propagation, shedding light on the spatial extent of microstructural pore occurrence within the composite. These findings have significant implications from a characterisation perspective to aid modelling approaches and manufacturing processes for high-performance composite prepregs tapes.

The high void content in laser-assisted fiber placement (LAFP)-manufactured thermoplastic (TP) hinders industrial adoption, with tape deconsolidation being a critical yet understudied factor. To address this research gap, this study provides an in-depth investigation into the deconsolidation mechanisms of TP tapes during the LAFP heating phase. A series of comparative experiments were conducted to systematically evaluate the effects of tape residual stress states (fiber-matrix combined, fiber-dominated, and near stress-free) and heating methods (laser vs. oven heating) on deconsolidation behavior. Deformation along the width, voids, thickness variations and surface roughness were identified as key factors to characterize deconsolidation behavior and to elucidate its underlying mechanisms. The results reveal that the matrix residual stress plays a dominant role in exacerbating deformation along the width, nonuniformity in thickness and intralaminar voids. Additionally, fiber decompaction—induced by the recovery of elastic deformation—contributes to surface deformation by generating voids near the surfaces. Furthermore, laser-heated tapes exhibit more pronounced intralaminar voids and higher surface roughness than oven-heated counterparts, underscoring the influence of heating rate on the release of residual stress. This study advances the understanding of deconsolidation mechanisms during the LAFP heating phase, and provides recommendations for optimizing the manufacturing of LAFP-grade TP tapes.

This study investigates a filament-wound tube model incorporating fiber undulation from the filament winding process. The model was analyzed using the finite element method in the linear regime, then compared with the shell model and radial crushing experiment. Results showed that the solid model predicts the radial compression stiffness with a higher level of accuracy than the shell model due to the inclusion of the fiber undulation feature. This model is a first step towards the development of a composite pressure vessel model where fiber undulation is more frequent, and also for predicting failure initiation and damage propagation.

Understanding the microstructural variability in unidirectional composite prepreg tapes is relevant to investigating mechanisms of tape microstructure formation, their impact on its processability and the mechanical performance of the final composite part. It has been shown that three-dimensional microstructural variability at the single-fibre level can be resolved by X-ray microcomputed tomography (XCT). However, to define a representative microstructural fingerprint of a given tape, investigations at the required small voxel size lead to limited volumes of observation, which might not be representative. This research aims to extend these findings via a multiscale approach, considering scales of observations, from microscopic (single fibre) up to mesoscopic (dimension of tape) length scale, to generate further insight into the microstructural organisation of thermoplastic prepreg tapes. By exploring the ability of XCT imaging for carbon fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites at different voxel sizes, the work aims to identify the limitations of the use of different scales of observations to capture features of microstructures and their propagation from micro- to mesoscale level. While structure tensor analysis appeared to correctly capture misaligned regions in XCT images with small voxel size (1/10 of the fibre diameter), the method proved ineffective for larger voxel size images (1/2 of the fibre diameter).

The present study introduces an automated multidisciplinary optimization (MDO) workflow that, for the first time, couples an explicit dynamic bird strike analysis with a post-impact static stress check. This joint problem is solved during preliminary wing sizing by integrating batch Bayesian optimization on Kriging surrogates with a variance-based variable screening procedure. The optimization problem comprises 19 thickness design variables and two highly non-linear constraints, imposing a maximum leading edge penetration and a maximum post-impact front spar stress while minimizing wing mass. The workflow is demonstrated on a five-bay metallic wing segment, yielding a 43% weight saving over the best-performing design during initial data generation while respecting CS 25.631 crashworthiness limits. Results demonstrated substantial computational savings by variable screening and highlighted the necessity of the stress constraint, as designs satisfying only the penetration depth requirement could still experience critical post-impact stress levels.

In-situ Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) manufacturing of thermoplastic prepreg tapes has the potential to provide a fast and cost-effective manufacturing solution for large composite structures. However, it is prone to several defects, especially gaps and overlaps. One of the primary causes for this is the tape width deformation during placement. Current literature is not enough to understand this mechanism completely and the conventionally considered tape width deformation mechanism i.e., transverse squeeze flow has been suggested to be incorrect for AFP. Therefore, the research objective was to experimentally investigate the width deformation mechanism and the influence of processing parameters for thermoplastic prepreg tapes using humm3® as the heating device. The results show that the tape width deformation takes place both in the heating and consolidation phase of the process and involves spreading of the fiber-resin mixture. Additionally, the conformable roller has an influence on the post-processed tape cross-section profile. The surface roughness and the influence of the processing parameters indicate the role of temperature distribution as the influencing factor. Therefore, these results can be used to accurately model the tape width deformation to mitigate the problem of gaps and overlaps.

Double-curved composite structures that are manufactured via automated fiber placement, such as pressure vessels, can take advantage of tow steering to reduce weight. This design freedom comes with the cost of adding internal normal stresses to the tow, possibly leading to wrinkles or pull up. The present work investigates tow pull up both experimentally and analytically and details a correlation between tow pull up and the minimum critical steering radius, where the material tackiness and the modelled plate’s length are found to be the most influential parameters. The experimental determination of the material tackiness is the next step to improve the predictive capabilities of the proposed model.

This work studies the effect of compaction of tapes that have been heated using a laser during automated fibre placement. The deconsolidation has been shown to have a significant effect on the surface roughness, degree of effective intimate contact and void content. This work investigates whether after compaction the as-received (i.e., before heating) properties are obtained, or whether the deconsolidationcompaction cycle has an influence on the final tape quality. First, a lab test set-up is designed and manufactured to mimic the real manufacturing conditions. Next, the set-up is used to study the influence of the placement speed and pressure on the final quality. The results show that the effects of deconsolidation are mostly reversed, but the final tape still has slightly worse qualities. This effect will have to be taken into account for accurate modelling of the laser-assisted automated fibre placement process.

Manufacturing variations in the automated fiber placement (AFP) process are one of the causes of gaps and overlaps. These manufacturing variations can be due to robot inaccuracy, tow lateral movement on the roller, tow width variation or tow compaction. An experimental setup was built to measure and investigate these various sources of manufacturing variations and their relative contributions to gap and overlap defects. This setup consisted of a commercial AFP head instrumented with additional sensors. Among all the measured sources of variations, lateral movement of the tow on the compaction roller was the biggest contributor to gaps and overlaps. The distributions of these sources of variations were fit with probability density functions. Random samples from these fits were used to simulate adjacent tows and predict the occurrence of gap and overlap defects. The distribution of predicted gaps correlated closely with the distribution of experimentally measured gaps. Thus, this approach of using statistical information about the sources of manufacturing variations to predict the frequency and magnitude of defects in a layup was validated.

This work aims to improve the flexural behaviour of unidirectional fibre-reinforced laminates by means of coupling an optimization procedure for quasi-isotropic configurations with the design space opened by dispersed-ply orientations. The design approach consists of finding suitable alternatives to traditional laminates (with fibre orientations limited to 0°, ±45^∘, and 90°), while maintaining their stiffness characteristics. This strategy isolates the interlaminar response as the objective function that is optimized to improve their flexural behaviour. To this end, a modified Ant Colony Optimization was implemented and geared towards optimizing the interlaminar stress profile, allowing plies at every possible 5° orientation, with the ultimate goal of delaying delamination. To validate the approach, a traditional reference laminate and derived fully dispersed designs were experimentally tested. The correlated responses show that it was not possible to improve flexural resistance. However, the typical flexural brittleness of laminates can be modified into a pseudo-ductile behaviour.

Anisotropic materials formed by living organisms possess remarkable mechanical properties due to their intricate microstructure and directional freedom. In contrast, human-made materials face challenges in achieving similar levels of directionality due to material and manufacturability constraints. To overcome these limitations, an approach using 3D printing of self-assembling thermotropic liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) is presented. Their high stiffness and strength is granted by nematic domains aligning during the extrusion process. Here, a remarkably wide range of Young's modulus from 3 to 40 GPa is obtained during by utilizing directionality of the nematic flow during the printing process. By determining a relationship between stiffness, nozzle diameter, and line width, a design space where shaping and mechanical performance can be combined is identified. The ability to print LCPs with on-the-fly width changes to accommodate arbitrary spatially varying directions is demonstrated. This unlocks the possibility to manufacture exquisite patterns inspired by fluid dynamics with steep curvature variations. Utilizing the synergy between this path-planning method and LCPs, functional objects with stiffness and curvature gradients can be 3D-printed, offering potential applications in lightweight sustainable structures embedding crack-mitigation strategies. This method also opens avenues for studying and replicating intricate patterns observed in nature, such as wood or turbulent flow using 3D printing.

Manufacturing variations in the AFP process are one of the causes of gaps and overlaps. These manufacturing variations can be due to robot inaccuracy, tape lateral movement on the roller, tape width variation or tape compaction. These manufacturing variations result in incorrect position or incorrect geometry of the laid tape. An experimental setup was built to measure and investigate the causes of these manufacturing variations and their relative contributions to gap and overlap defects. This setup consisted of an instrumented AFP head. A laser tracker measured the achieved trajectory of the AFP head. A camera measured the lateral movement of the tape on the roller. Laser line scanners measured tape width before and after layup. Experimental results show that the 99^th percentile absolute deviations for each of the four measured sources vary from 0.119 mm to 0.534 mm as compared to the specified tape width of 6.35 mm. Among all the measured sources of variations, lateral movement of the tape on the compaction roller was the biggest contributor to gaps and overlaps.

Most MDO problems currently do not include manufacturing as an optimization domain. Within the H2020 project AGILE 4.0 the intent is to bring manufacturing into the MDO domain using MBSE techniques developed within the project. To demonstrate how manufacturing can be brought into the MDO domain application cases are set up that resemble MDO problems from industry. In this paper, the MDO techniques will be used for the design of a Flap for a regional jet. The manufacturing aspect is represented by including the manufacturing cost of the flap in a Design Of Experiments (DOE). In this DOE different flap kinematic mechanisms and different flap sizes and paths are explored. The DOE is set up using the MDO toolset developed within AGILE 4.0. It allows for an automatic definition of the DOE workflow. The DOE results show that the choice of flap configuration has a significant effect on the Flap manufacturing cost, the flap wright and the landing performance of the aircraft. Next steps will be to investigate more flap configurations, improved the manufacturing cost model used and to set up a true flap optimization.

Over the past 25 years, interest in thermoplastic composites in aircraft has steadily increased. Combining winding and laser-assisted tape placement is a promising method to manufacture thermoplastic structures using in-situ consolidation, as shown recently by manufacturing a variable stiffness, unitized, integrated-stiffener thermoplastic wingbox at the University of Limerick. The corner regions are a critical point of the structure and require in-depth characterization studies, for example by unfolding L-shaped samples in a 4-point bend test. In this work, samples with radii varying from 2 to 10 mm were manufactured and tested. Two manufacturing parameters were varied: the rotational speed and acceleration of the tool. Test data show that decreasing the radius increases the corner strength, but an optimum radius exists to withstand a maximum unfolding force/moment. In addition, the slowest deposition rate with least acceleration of the head used during manufacturing lead to the highest corner strength for the same radius.

Despite their importance in benchmarking numerical simulations, buckling tests still feature compromises between component-level and high-fidelity large-scale tests. For example, compression-induced buckling tests cannot capture the through-thickness or span-wise stress gradients in wing skins. Consequently, the results obtained often require careful interpretation and conservative considerations before applying to a structure. Alternatively, a system-level large-scale test can be used, yet at considerably increased time and expense. There has been little progression towards capturing system-level behaviour in a simplified test. Herein, for buckling behaviour assessment, a three-point bending test is used, which is quick, simple to implement, and cost-effective compared to existing conventional methods. The proposed method relies on subjecting a panel with auxiliary stiffeners to bending to introduce compression-induced buckling in the skin. The three-point bend test is used, because it provides readily controllable loading and boundary conditions. The location of the neutral plane can be tailored via design of the stiffeners, thus allowing for control of the through-thickness stress gradient induced in the skin. This method is applicable to buckling of stiffened structures subject to bending (e.g., aircraft wingboxes). Numerical models are used to explore the limits of the proposed method and comparing it against traditional coupon and full-scale structural level tests. The test method is experimentally demonstrated for capturing the buckling behaviour of a thermoplastic composite panel made via automated fibre placement. The proposed approach is shown to reliably capture the buckling behaviour of a large-scale test using a simpler and more time and cost-efficient setup than conventional methods.

This paper presents the collaborative model-based design of a business jet family. In family design, a trade-off is made between aircraft performance, reducing fuel burn, and commonality, reducing manufacturing costs. The family is designed using Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) methods developed in the AGILE 4.0 project. The EC-funded AGILE 4.0 project extends the scope of the preliminary aircraft design process to also include systems engineering phases and new design domains like manufacturing, maintenance, and certification. Stakeholders, needs, requirements, and architecture models of the business jet family are presented. Then, the collaborative Multidisciplinary Design Analysis and Optimization (MDAO) capabilities are used to integrate various aircraft design disciplines, including overall aircraft design, onboard systems design, wing structural sizing, tailplane sizing, mission analysis, and cost estimation. Decisions regarding the degree of commonality are implemented by optionally fixing the design of a shared component when sizing an aircraft.

Carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composites (CFRPs) outperform most structural engineering materials in specific stiffness and/or specific strength, especially in their unidirectional configuration. Unidirectional composites can be found as individual structural elements in cables or pin-loaded straps; they are however most commonly found in the form of tapes, representing a semi-finished product for subsequent processing to laminates by tape laying, winding or press moulding. The outstanding properties of such composites are affected by its microstructure. It influences the structural performance and fatigue life when architected into thin ply composites [1]. The microstructure is also affected by processing conditions, respectively recursively affects processability as observed in the deconsolidation [2] or intimate contact formation [3] during laser assisted tape laying. This work presents a novel approach to identify microstructural features. This is achieved by Voronoi tessellation-based evaluation of the fibre volume content on cross-sectional micrographs, with consideration of the matrix boundary. The method [4] is shown to be robust and is suitable to be automated and has the potential to be expanded into 3d imaging techniques [5]. It further has the potential to discriminate specific microstructural features and to relate them to processing behaviour. The method is experimentally validated on tape samples with characteristic processing history.

Representative stiffened panels are optimized such that multiple buckling modes and failure (using open hole allowables) occur within a range of 10% of the lowest buckling load. This implies the panels cannot be loaded up to the buckling load without risking failure, hence vibrational correlation testing was used to estimate the buckling loads and modes. At the same time, a finite element model was created using the Carrera Unified Formulation. This model was validated using the tests and a good correlation between both was observed. Three panels were manufactured and each panel was put in place for testing twice. Each time a panel was put in place, the test was repeated three times. This allowed us to get a ballpark estimate for the variation due to replicas of the panel, the test set-up and repeating the tests.

This work presents a new aeroelastic optimisation framework for the preliminary design of variable stiffness composite wing structures. The framework is constructed by sequentially and iteratively solving two sub-problems: aeroelastic tailoring and lay-up retrieval, using gradient-based algorithms with full-analytical sensitivities provided. During aeroelastic tailoring, the wing mass is minimised by optimising the lamination parameters and thickness of wing laminates together with wing jig twist distribution. The load cases cover not only static loads, but also the critical gust loads that are identified across the entire flight envelop at every iteration of optimisation. Further, a cruise shape constraint is included in addition to other aerostructural constraints, so that the optimal aircraft performance can be ensured. During lay-up retrieval, the manufacturable stacking sequence is retrieved according to the optimal lamination parameters with the consideration of minimal steering radius constraint. Moreover, to fix the possible constraint violations caused by lay-up retrieval, a correction strategy is incorporated to tighten the violated constraints for repeating aeroelastic tailoring. Finally, several case studies on the design of NASA common research model wing are carried out and investigated. The results indicate that the critical gust loads and cruise shape constraint have a large influence on the design of tow-steered composite wing structures, which therefore demonstrate the usefulness and benefits of the proposed optimisation framework.

A retrofit analysis on a 90 passengers regional jet aircraft is performed through a multidisciplinary collaborative aircraft design and optimization highlighting the impact on costs and performance. Two different activities are accounted for selecting the best aircraft retrofit solution: a re-engining operation that allows to substitute a conventional power-plant platform with advanced geared turbofan and an on-board-systems architecture modernization, considering different levels of electrification. Besides the variables that are directly dependent from these activities, also scenario variables are considered during the optimization such as the fuel price, the fleet size and the years of utilization of the upgraded systems. The optimization is led by impacts of the retrofitting process on emissions, capital costs and saving costs, computed at industrial level. Overall aircraft design competences (aerodynamics, masses, performance, noise, and emissions) have been computed increasing the level of fidelity and reliability. The whole process is implemented in the framework of the AGILE 4.0 research project in a collaborative remote multidisciplinary approach. Results show that the engine retrofitting can be a profitable solution for both manufacturers and airliners. Conversely, the on-board-system electrification seems to be not convenient in a retrofitting process due to the high capital costs. Depending on the operative scenario, involved stakeholders can properly orient their decision on a retrofitting strategy.