Benchmark Study of Finite Element Models for Simulating the Thermostamping of Woven-Fabric Reinforced Composites

Abstract

Thermostamping of woven fabrics shows promise for being a viable means for making high-volume low-cost composites. A number of research teams around the world have been developing finite element methods for simulating this thermostamping process, and in an effort to understand the strengths and limitations of the different simulation methods, an international benchmark survey was conducted for a double-dome geometry. Comparisons were made by observing the resulting draw-in of the fabric and shear angles developed in the fabric after stamping. In this paper, simulations results as submitted by the various research teams are compared. Where possible, the simulation results are compared to experimental data. Forming parameters for a next round of simulations for comparison amongst the participating labs are presented.

Fabric thermostamping in polymer matrix composites

“…Typically the time to cure can vary from a few seconds for a thermoplastic to several minutes for a thermoset matrix. Figure 6.5 shows the geometry of the tooling used in an international benchmarking program where the objective was to compare the prediction capabilities of various thermostamping simulations for the resulting fabric deformations to physical parts (Sargent et al , 2010). This geometry was chosen because it includes compound curvatures as depicted by the hemispheres on either end which transition to a trapezoidal trough in the center.…”

Textile Composite Forming Simulations

“…Additional results such as ±45 • orientation, multiply forming and different friction coefficients can be found in [34]. This forming case has been defined as an international benchmark of woven composites [40].…”

Quasi-unidirectional flax composite reinforcement: Deformability and complex shape forming

“…The first module is made up of a punch with double-dome shape, a metal open die on which the composite reinforcement is placed and a rectangular blankholder. The double-dome punch was the one introduced in the benchmark study [43] and was also used in [44]. The geometry of the metal tools is depicted in Fig.…”