Simulation of the Tape‐Laying Process for Thermoplastic Matrix Composites

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The paper presents an overview of the tape-laying process for thermoplastic matrix composites and the current state-of-the-art simulation of this process. As the current mathematical description of the process is partly based on a Newtonian shear flow and thermoplastics normally show a shear thinning behavior at higher shear rates, the assumption of a Newtonian shear flow has been verified. Therefore, the occurring shear rates have been calculated and compared with the data of a viscosity plot for a polyether ether ketone material. As a result of this analysis, the assumption of Newtonian shear flow is shown to be an oversimplification. C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 00: 1-9, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com.

Online Monitoring and Prediction of Thermo-Mechanics of AFP Based Thermoplastic Composites

“…It also allows an efficient optimization of process variables to achieve a desired characteristic of the part. Some studies have considered sequential heat-transfer and structural analysis to simulate the AFP layup process but loses the inter-relationships in the science of thermo-mechanics of the process and hence cannot be fully relied [37,38,39,40,41,42,43]. The current study establishes a simplified coupled temperature-displacement analysis of layup of four thermoplastic carbon plies laminate being consolidated by a stainless steel roller.…”

Insights into complex rheological behaviour of carbon fibre/PEEK from a novel numerical methodology incorporating fibre friction and melt viscosity

“…A robust model for the deviatoric behaviour of PEEK melt, free from numerical problems over a large range of strain rates (0.001 s -1 to 1000 s -1 ) was a vital pre-requisite for this work. Experimental data from [8,27] indicate that PEEK shear viscosity,  , at 380°C, exhibits a transition from Newtonian to shear-thinning behaviour at a strain rate of ~10…”

“…It should be noted that experimental data at such high rates does not exist, and is probably not possible to generate with existing rotational rheometers. Nonetheless, strain rates far above this are predicted to occur during ATP processing (up to 2500 s -1 according to [27]), so it is important to have an idea of the material behaviour at such rates for modelling the ATP process.…”

An inverse model for optimisation of laser heat flux distributions in an automated laser tape placement process for carbon-fibre/PEEK

“…As the results correlate well, the model should be fit for the purpose of demonstrating relative improvements of changes in the heating profiles. One explanation for the conservative estimates is the fact the current bonding models do not account for the effects of shear thinning during intimate contact development [46].…”