Paper number 846

MOULDING ANALYSIS OF 3D WOVEN COMPOSITE PREFORMS: MAPPING ALGORITHMS

Shrikant B. Sharma, Prasad Potluri, Issac Porat

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
PO Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, United Kingdom

Summary

Fibre alignment over the mould surface, when forming a composite material, affects the quality of the final product in terms of its structural homogeneity and mechanical properties. If the fibre-assembly is available in the form of a woven fabric, its yarns undergo an arrangement that can be predicted based on the shear deformation theory of a woven lamina. The present work tries to simulate the fitting of a woven fabric over an arbitrarily specified mould surface. Mapping algorithms have been developed which calculate the locations of the yarn crossover points, and hence the orientation of yarns. The algorithm has been enhanced so that the fabric covers most of the mould surface, if shear deformation permits it. Using this algorithm, one can also generate the 2-D outline of the woven lamina necessary to fit the surface.

Keywords

moulding, woven composites, 3D, preform, fibre mapping, drapability, CAD.