Paper number 582

SOME PROPOSED EXPERIMENTAL TESTS FOR USE IN FINITE ELEMENT SIMULATION OF COMPOSITE FORMING

B.K. Cartwright , P. de Luca , J. Wang , K. Stellbrink, R. Paton

Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures Limited 506 Lorimer Street, Fishermen's Bend, Victoria, 3207, Australia
Engineering Systems International, 20, Rue Saarinen - SILIC 270 F-94578 Rungis Cedex, France
Aerospace Department, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
German Aerospace Establishment (DLR), Institute of Structures and Design, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany

Summary

Successful numerical simulations in the automotive industry have resulted in new concepts for design and manufacture. One of the new concepts is to have a 'virtual- manufacturing-facility' through numerical simulation. Simulations for the processing of metals have been successful due to the accepted methods for measuring material properties, and for the laws and models to describe their deformation. The measuring techniques and models for the deformation of composites have not enjoyed the same acceptance. Consequently the success of numerical simulation for the composites industry will depend on simple methods for determining material characteristics, and demonstration of accurate simulation results. This paper presents a three-test method for determining the material characteristics which dominate the forming process for multi-ply composite forming, and then uses simulations of the same tests to verify the accuracy of the numerical simulation process. Finally, a simulation of a composite forming process is presented to demonstrate the application of the material tests.

Keywords

thermoforming, diaphragm forming, fabric, forming, numerical simulation, prepreg.