Scaling effects in the manufacture and testing of grid-stiffened composite structures
Article
Article Title | Scaling effects in the manufacture and testing of grid-stiffened composite structures |
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ERA Journal ID | 4918 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Alantali, A. (Author), Alia, R. A. (Author), Umer, R. (Author) and Cantwell, W. J. (Author) |
Journal Title | Journal of Composite Materials |
Journal Citation | 52 (17), pp. 2351-2363 |
Number of Pages | 13 |
Year | 2018 |
Publisher | SAGE Publications Ltd |
Place of Publication | United Kingdom |
ISSN | 0021-9983 |
1530-793X | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1177/0021998317744871 |
Web Address (URL) | http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0021998317744871 |
Abstract | Scaling effects in the manufacture and testing of glass fiber-reinforced epoxy grid-stiffened structures have been investigated in this study. Four nominally identical scaled sizes of mold have been manufactured, in which the length, width, height, and internal channel sizes were varied to achieve ¼, ½, g and full-scale stiffened structures. The panels were manufactured on a glass mold using the vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding technique, enabling the flow front to be monitored throughout the filling process. Grid-stiffened beams were removed from the cured panels and tested in flexure on scaled bending fixtures. The vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding manufacturing study on the four scaled sizes indicated that resin infusion incurred more rapidly in the smallest mold, possibly due to difficulties in accurately cutting the glass fabric, which in turn reduced the effective areal density of the fabric, thereby modifying its effective permeability. The flow rates and velocities of the resin fronts in the larger mold sizes were similar, suggesting that an appropriately scaled mold can be used to successfully predict the infusion process in more representative structures. Flexural tests on the grid-stiffened samples highlighted a similar response in the three largest samples, with the smallest sample again offering a modified response. Similar failure mechanisms, including fracture of the grid structure, debonding at the skin-core interface, and flexural failure in the center of the sample, were observed in all of the samples. |
Keywords | resin infusion, mechanical properties, scalability, composite structures |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 401602. Composite and hybrid materials |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
Byline Affiliations | Khalifa University, United Arab Emirates |
Centre for Future Materials |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q48y5/scaling-effects-in-the-manufacture-and-testing-of-grid-stiffened-composite-structures
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