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Advances in Mechanical Prediction of Composite Laminates
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Advances in Mechanical Prediction of Composite Laminates

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Composites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 February 2023) | Viewed by 13611

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Zhengming Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Interests: mechanics of composites reinforced with continuous fibers; short fibers and particles; failure prediction; damage detection; micromechanics; strength of composites

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fiber-reinforced composite laminates have been successfully used in aerospace, automotive, marine, and construction industries due to their high strength, durability, corrosion resistance and damage tolerance characteristics. Great efforts have been made to study mechanical responses of the laminates during the last few decades. However, the design procedure (including prediction of failure, strength and deformation) for a laminated structure is still not fully matured. Even for a flat laminate, there is a lack of evidence to show that any of the existing approaches could provide an accurate prediction on its mechanical property outside of its elastic behavior.

To promote the free interchange of information on all of the aspects related to the mechanics of composite laminates, this Special Issue, “Advances in Mechanical Prediction of Composite Laminates”, will focus on the latest developments in prediction methods for obtaining the mechanical properties, other than elastic behaviors, of a laminated composite. We believe that this Special Issue would encourage the related research into providing design engineers with more robust and reliable prediction methods. It is our pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and review articles are all welcome. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Strength of unidirectional laminas;
  • Nonlinear constitutive relation of a lamina;
  • Progressive failures of laminates;
  • Ultimate failure conditions for a laminate;
  • Delamination of laminates;
  • Nonlinear deformation of a laminate;
  • Interface debonding;
  • Failures of a laminate under a dynamic load;
  • Strength of laminated structures;
  • Free-edge effect.

Prof. Dr. Zhengming Huang
Guest Editor

Yi Zhou
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • lamina
  • laminate
  • composite structures
  • constitutive relation
  • failure criterion
  • progressive failures
  • ultimate failure
  • deformation
  • interface debonding
  • delamination
  • free edge
  • fatigue failure
  • dynamic behavior

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3343 KiB  
Article
Composite Lamina Model Design with the Use of Heuristic Optimization
by Artem Balashov, Anna Burduk and Jozef Husár
Materials 2023, 16(2), 495; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16020495 - 04 Jan 2023
Viewed by 817
Abstract
In engineering practice, a problem is quite often faced in which the number of unknown parameters exceeds the number of conditions or requirements or, otherwise, there are too many requirements for too few parameters to design. Such under- or over-defined tasks are sometimes [...] Read more.
In engineering practice, a problem is quite often faced in which the number of unknown parameters exceeds the number of conditions or requirements or, otherwise, there are too many requirements for too few parameters to design. Such under- or over-defined tasks are sometimes not possible to solve using a direct approach. The number of solutions to such problems is multiple, and it is most rational to search for the optimal one by numerical methods since the more unknown design parameters there are to be designed, the more potential solutions there are. This article discusses a way to find an optimal solution to such an underdetermined problem by heuristic optimization methods on the basis of the example of designing a composite wing skin of an aircraft. Several heuristic approaches, specifically gradient descent and Tabu search, are studied to solve the design problem and to locate an optimal solution. They are also compared to a conventional direct approach. The examined composite lamina is optimized by the target function of minimum weight with the constraints of strength and buckling failure criteria. In most of the observed cases, the heuristic method designed structures which were considerably better than the structures that were obtained by conventional direct approaches in terms of the weight to load ratio. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Mechanical Prediction of Composite Laminates)
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12 pages, 2288 KiB  
Article
Influence of Fiber Angle on Steady-State Response of Laminated Composite Rectangular Plates
by Ahmad Saood, Arshad Hussain Khan, Md. Israr Equbal, Kuldeep K. Saxena, Chander Prakash, Nikolay Ivanovich Vatin and Saurav Dixit
Materials 2022, 15(16), 5559; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15165559 - 12 Aug 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1173
Abstract
Significant advances in the field of composite structures continue to be made on a variety of fronts, including theoretical studies based on advances in structural theory kinematics and computer models of structural elements employing advanced theories and unique formulations. Plate vibration is a [...] Read more.
Significant advances in the field of composite structures continue to be made on a variety of fronts, including theoretical studies based on advances in structural theory kinematics and computer models of structural elements employing advanced theories and unique formulations. Plate vibration is a persistently interesting subject owing to its wider usage as a structural component in the industry. The current study was carried out using the Co continuous eight-noded quadrilateral shear-flexible element having five nodal degrees of freedom, which is ground on first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT). For small strain and sufficiently large deformation, the geometric nonlinearity is integrated using the Von Kármán assumption. The governing equations in the time domain are solved employing the modified shooting technique along with an arc-length and pseudo-arc-length continuation strategy. This work explored the effect of fiber angle on the steady-state nonlinear forced vibration response. To explain hardening nonlinearity, the strain and stress fluctuation throughout the thickness for a rectangular laminated composite plate is determined. The cyclic fluctuation of the steady-state nonlinear normal stress during a time period at the centre of the top/bottom surfaces is also provided at the forcing frequency ratio of peak amplitude in a nonlinear response. Because of the variation in restoring forces, the frequency spectra for all fiber angle orientations show significantly enhanced harmonic participation in addition to the fundamental harmonic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Mechanical Prediction of Composite Laminates)
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15 pages, 7758 KiB  
Article
Friction-Wear Characteristics of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Paper-Based Friction Materials under Different Working Conditions
by Zhiwei Ma, Changsong Zheng, Cenbo Xiong, Liang Yu, Yujian Liu and Cunzheng Zhang
Materials 2022, 15(10), 3682; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15103682 - 20 May 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1697
Abstract
To study the friction and wear performance of carbon fiber reinforced friction materials under different working conditions, paper-based friction materials with different fibers were prepared. Experiments on the SAE#2 test bench were conducted to study the infectors including friction torques, surface temperature, coefficient [...] Read more.
To study the friction and wear performance of carbon fiber reinforced friction materials under different working conditions, paper-based friction materials with different fibers were prepared. Experiments on the SAE#2 test bench were conducted to study the infectors including friction torques, surface temperature, coefficient of friction (COF), and surface morphologies. The results were analyzed, which indicated that the carbon fiber reinforced friction material could provide a higher friction torque and a lower temperature rising rate under the applied high pressure and high rotating speed conditions. As the pressure increased from 1 MPa to 2.5 MPa, the friction torque of plant fiber reinforced material increased by 150%, the friction torque of carbon fiber reinforced material increased by 400%, and the maximum temperature of plant fiber reinforced and carbon fiber reinforced material reached the highest value at 1.5 MPa. Thus, carbon fibers not only improved the COF and friction torque performance but also had advantages in avoiding thermal failure. Meanwhile, carbon fiber reinforced friction materials can provide a more stable COF as its variable coefficient (α) only rose from 38.18 to 264.62, from 1 MPa to 2.5 MPa, which was much lower than the natural fiber reinforced friction materials. Simultaneously, due to the good dispersion and excellent mechanical properties of PAN chopped carbon fibers, fewer pores formed on the initial surface, which improved the high wear resistance, especially in the intermedia disc. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Mechanical Prediction of Composite Laminates)
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15 pages, 4945 KiB  
Article
Influence of Woven-Fabric Type on the Efficiency of Fabric-Reinforced Polymer Composites
by Andrei Axinte, Dragoș Ungureanu, Nicolae Țăranu, Liliana Bejan, Dorina Nicolina Isopescu, Radu Lupășteanu, Iuliana Hudișteanu and Victoria Elena Roșca
Materials 2022, 15(9), 3165; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15093165 - 27 Apr 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1328
Abstract
The greatest advantage of fiber-reinforced composite materials is the freedom to tailor their strength and stiffness properties, while the most significant disadvantage consists in their high costs. Therefore, the design process and especially the optimization phase becomes an important step. The geometry of [...] Read more.
The greatest advantage of fiber-reinforced composite materials is the freedom to tailor their strength and stiffness properties, while the most significant disadvantage consists in their high costs. Therefore, the design process and especially the optimization phase becomes an important step. The geometry of the fabric of each lamina as well as their stacking sequence need to be carefully defined, starting from some basic geometric variables. The input parameters are the widths and the heights of the tows, the laminate-stacking sequence and the gaps between two successive tows or the height of the neat matrix. This paper is a follow-up to a previous work on using and improving an in-house software called SOMGA (Satin Optimization with a Modified Genetic Algorithm), aimed to optimize the geometrical parameters of satin-reinforced multi-layer composites. The final goal is to find out the way in which various types of woven fabrics can affect the best possible solution to the problem of designing a composite material, able to withstand a given set of in-plane loads. The efficiency of the composite structure is evaluated by its ultimate strains using a fitness function that analyses and compares the mechanical behavior of different fabric-reinforced composites. Therefore, the ultimate strains corresponding to each configuration are considered intermediate data, being analyzed comparatively until obtaining the optimal values. When the software is running, for each analysis step, a set of intermediate values is provided. However, the users do not have to store these values, because the final result of the optimization directly provides the composite configuration with maximum efficiency, whose structural response meets the initially imposed loading conditions. To illustrate how the SOMGA software works, six different satin-woven-fabric-reinforced composites, starting from plain weave (satin 2/1/1), then satin 3/1/1, satin 4/1/1, satin 5/1/1, satin 5/2/1 and finally satin 5/3/1, were evaluated in the SOMGA interface. The results were rated against each other in terms of the composite efficiency and the case characterized by minimal reinforcement undulation (thinnest laminate) were highlighted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Mechanical Prediction of Composite Laminates)
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17 pages, 9187 KiB  
Article
Failure Analysis of Hat-Stringer-Stiffened Aircraft Composite Panels under Four-Point Bending Loading
by Binkai Li, Yu Gong, Yukui Gao, Mengqing Hou and Lei Li
Materials 2022, 15(7), 2430; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15072430 - 25 Mar 2022
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4913
Abstract
Hat-stringer-stiffened composite panels have been widely used in aircrafts. Accurate failure analysis of them is important for the safety and integrity of the fuselage. During the service period, these panels will bear not only the lateral force caused by the bending of fuselage, [...] Read more.
Hat-stringer-stiffened composite panels have been widely used in aircrafts. Accurate failure analysis of them is important for the safety and integrity of the fuselage. During the service period, these panels will bear not only the lateral force caused by the bending of fuselage, but also the radial pressure caused by the internal and external differential pressure during the take-off and landing of the aircraft. However, the latter case lacks investigation. Therefore, experimental and numerical studies for the static and fatigue failure of hat-stringer-stiffened composite panels under four-point bending loading have been performed in this work. To accurately predict the fatigue failure, a novel theoretical model has been proposed based on the fatigue damage theory. In addition, a user-defined subroutine USDFLD is developed for the implementation of the proposed theoretical model in Abaqus. Experimental results show that the main failure modes are the delamination of the skin and debonding between the girder flange and the skin. The experimental average value of the initial debonding load and displacement in static tests are 897.3 N and 10.8 mm, respectively. Predictions exhibit good agreement with experimental results with relative errors within 10%. Experimental average fatigue failure life of the specimens is 33,085 cycles, which is also close to the prediction with relative errors within 10%. This indicates the reliability and applicability of the established theoretical model and numerical method for predicting the failure of hat-shaped girder structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Mechanical Prediction of Composite Laminates)
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25 pages, 11970 KiB  
Article
Multi-Objective Optimization in Single-Shot Drilling of CFRP/Al Stacks Using Customized Twist Drill
by Muhammad Hafiz Hassan, Jamaluddin Abdullah and Gérald Franz
Materials 2022, 15(5), 1981; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15051981 - 07 Mar 2022
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2942
Abstract
In recent years, the use of CFRP with titanium and/or aluminum to form materials for stacking has gained popularity for aircraft construction. In practice, single-shot drilling is used to create perfectly aligned holes for the composite-metal stack. Usually, standard twist drills, which are [...] Read more.
In recent years, the use of CFRP with titanium and/or aluminum to form materials for stacking has gained popularity for aircraft construction. In practice, single-shot drilling is used to create perfectly aligned holes for the composite-metal stack. Usually, standard twist drills, which are commonly available from tool suppliers, are used for practical reasons. However, existing twist drill bits exhibit rapid wear upon the drilling of composite-metal stack layers in single shot, due to the widely contrasting properties of the composite-metal stack, which causes poor surface quality. The stringent quality requirements for aircraft component manufacturing demands frequent drill bit replacement and thus incurs additional costs, a concern still unresolved for aircraft component manufacturers. Owing to highly contrasting properties of a composite-metal stack, it is obvious that standard twist drill cannot fulfil the rigorous drilling requirements, as it is pushed to the limit for the fabrication of high-quality, defect-free holes. In this work, customised twist drills of a tungsten carbide (WC) material with different geometric features were specially fabricated and tested. Twenty drill bits with customised geometries of varying chisel edge angle (30–45°), primary clearance angle (6–8°), and point angle (130–140°) were fabricated. The stacked-up materials used in this study was CFRP and aluminum alloy 7075-T6 (Al7075-T6) with a total thickness of 3.587 mm. This study aims to investigate the effect of twist drill geometry on hole quality using drilling thrust force signature as indicator. All drilling experiments were performed at spindle speed of 2600 rev/min and feed rate of 0.05 mm/rev. Design of experiments utilising response surface methodology (RSM) method was used to construct the experimental array. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to study the effect of parameters and their significance to the thrust force and thus the hole quality. The study shows that the most significant parameter affecting the drilling thrust force and hole surface roughness is primary clearance angle, followed by chisel edge angle. Correlation models of CFRP thrust force (Y1), Al7075-T6 thrust force (Y2), CFRP hole surface roughness (Y3), Al7075-T6 hole surface roughness (Y4) as a function of the tool geometry were established. The results indicated that the proposed correlation models could be used to predict the performance indicators within the limit of factors investigated. The optimum twist drill geometry was established at 45° of chisel edge angle, 7° of primary clearance angle, and 130° of point angle for the drilling of CFRP/Al7075-T6 stack material in a single-shot process. The error between the predicted and actual experiment values was between 6.64% and 8.17% for the optimum drill geometry. The results from this work contribute new knowledge to drilling thrust force signature and hole quality in the single-shot drilling of composite-metal stacks and, specifically, could be used as a practical guideline for the single-shot drilling of CFRP/Al7075-T6 stack for aircraft manufacturing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Mechanical Prediction of Composite Laminates)
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