Numerical-Experimental Analysis of CFRP Specimen under Multi-Directional Thermo-Mechanical Loading
N.P. Dighe (TU Delft - Aerospace Engineering)
Josef Koord – Mentor (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR))
B. Atli-Veltin – Mentor (TU Delft - Group Dransfeld)
C Dransfeld – Mentor (TU Delft - Group Dransfeld)
S. G.P. Castro – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Group Giovani Pereira Castro)
J. Sinke – Mentor (TU Delft - Group Sinke)
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Abstract
Sustainable aviation demands alternative propulsion system, such as Liquid Hydrogen (LH2). LH2 needs to be cryogenically stored in large, lightweight fuel tanks. Carbon-fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composite tanks offer promising weight-savings.
Liner-less composite tanks are prone to safety-critical issues such as leakage. Leakage is caused by the presence of microcrack networks in the laminate. It is known that these crack networks arise due to thermo-mechanical loads. Element level testing is required to build a foundational understanding of the damage and leakage phenomena. The bulge test rig is capable of such element level testing, by mimicing multi-axial loads experienced by the tank structure at cryogenic temperature.
A digital twin is developed to provide deeper insights into the behaviour of the test rig and specimen. The validity of this digital twin is quantified by a 'multi-sensor' experimental campaign. The validation dataset is obtained on a range of test configurations, both at room and cryogenic temperature. Specifically, strain data is acquired using strain gauges, fibre-optic sensors and digital image correlation. Qualitative damage assessment of post-mortem specimen is conducted using ultrasound and optical microscopy, to compare the inter and intra-laminar damage initiation predictions of the digital twin.
The experimental-numerical analysis of the work is envisioned to contribute to a more representative design of bulge test specimen.