Papers by Author: Heoung Jae Chun

Abstract: Due to the high specific strength, high specific modulus and good fatigue characteristics, carbon/epoxy composite bicycle frame can have superior performance to aluminum bicycle. As the strength of composite frame varies according to the number of layers and stacking sequence, it is necessary to determine the appropriate number of layers and stacking sequence for designing light weight composite frame. The frame is divided into six parts, i.e. head tube, seat tube, top tube, bottom tube, seat stay, and chain stay parts. Since different stress levels are generated among the different parts, different numbers of layer with different stacking sequences are considered for each part. Three different loading conditions, i.e. horizontal loading, vertical loading, and pedal loading, are considered in the analysis. The superb stacking sequence and number of layers of the composite frame with the lowest failure index were determined which satisfy the three different loading conditions.

Abstract: Delamination failure occurs due to the out-of-plane loading because of the weakness in the thickness directional properties of composite materials. The z-pinned composite has been developed to overcome such a problem. In this study, the mechanical properties of z-pinned composite laminates were examined using the analytical model. The effects of z-pins on the strength in the thickness direction were investigated. Fibers in the laminate are gradually waved by the formation of resin rich zone caused by inserting the z-pins. A constitutive model was developed for the predictions of strengths of woven z-pinned composites. The changes in the strengths in the in-plane and out-of-plane directions of the woven z-pinned composites and the effects of controlling parameters such as the diameter of z-pin and densities of z-pin on the strengths were identified. It was found that the out-of-plane tensile strength increases 14% relative to that of composite without z-pins when the diameter of z-pin is 0.25 mm. However, the in-plane tensile strength and in-plane and out-of-plane shear strengths were reduced to 9%, 7% and 8%, respectively, over the strengths of composite without z-pins. Qualitatively good correlations are obtained between the results of the suggested model and the experiments.

Abstract: The embedded structural health monitoring system is envisioned to be an important factor of future structural systems. One of the many attractions of in situ health monitoring system is its capability to inspect the structural systems in less intrusive way over many other visual inspections which require disassembly of built up structures when some indications have appeared that damages have occurred in the structural systems The vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process is used to fabricate woven-glass/phenol composite specimens which have the PZT sensor array embedded in them. The embedded piezoceramic (PZT) sensors are used as both transmitters and receivers. A damage identification approach is developed for a woven-glass/phenol composite laminates with known localized defects. Propagation of the Lamb waves in laminates and their interactions with the defects are examined. Lamb waves are generated by the high power ultrasonic analyzer. A real time active diagnosis system is therefore established. The results obtained show that satisfactory detection accuracy could be achieved by proposed method.

Abstract: It is a well known fact that the fundamental causes of most failures in composite structures are in the forms of incipient damages such as delaminations and cracks which usually remain undetected until they grow to levels large enough to cause failure. In this study, unidirectional carbon/epoxy composite plates with known defects are investigated. The known defects are generated by impacting the composite specimens simulating external collision. A pair of transmitter and receiver was used for generation of Lamb waves and reception of signals. The received signals were monitored by scanning the receiver toward internal defect or by scanning both transmitter and receiver with confined distance over the surface of the composite plates which have known defects lie beneath them. The proper selection of incident angle and frequency are also considered. The characteristics of received signals such as amplitude, energy and wave form are analyzed. The acquired information is used to locate and to measure the size of the impact damage. The suggested method is very effective if the internal damage is presented closed to surface of the plate where the conventional pulse-echo method has problems. The proposed technique can be used widely for the real time and online monitoring of composite structures.

Abstract: The use of composite materials in many engineering structures has increased recently. The structures are jointed together by single or multiple bolted mechanical fastening to transfer the loads from one member to another. Applications of such joints require adequate knowledge of stress distribution in the vicinity of the boundary of pin hole. In this study, stress analysis is conducted with finite element method to study the stress distributions in the vicinities of both single-pin and multi-pin loaded holes of multi-axial warp knit fabric composite laminates. The perfect fit condition and contact with friction between the pin and hole without lateral constrain are assumed in the analysis. Effects of friction, stacking sequence, ratio of edge distance over hole diameter, ratio of width over hole diameter, number of pins, number of rows, number of column and hole patterns are evaluated. The results show they have a significant influence on joint performance.

Abstract: The purposes of stitching multi-axial warp knitted fabric preform prior to the fabrication of the composite materials by resin-transfer molding technique are to improve the resistance to delamination and to increase the out-of-plane properties of the composite materials for structural integrity. The influence of the through-the-thickness stitching on the elastic properties and behaviors of the multi-axial warp knit fabric composites is studied. An analytical model based on the representative volume is proposed to predict the elastic properties of the stitched multi-axial warp knit fabric composite materials. The fiber volume ratios determined by geometric parameters set by the representative volume and elastic behaviors of the in-situ constituent materials are used for the predictions. The crucial step in the analysis is to correlate the averaged stress states in the constituents by adopting bridging matrix. The predicted results are compared with the experimental results. It is found that the predicted results are in reasonably good agreement with the experimental results.

Abstract: An analytical model was proposed to predict the elastic properties of multi-axial warp knitted (MWK) fabric composites for three-dimensional structures. The characteristics of MWK fabric composites are the assemblage of multilayers of rovings in the warp, weft and bias directions for in-plane reinforcement and out-of-plane stitches by knitting rovings to provide through-the- thickness reinforcement. For analysis, a representative volume of the MWK fabric composite was identified. The geometric limitations, effects of stitch fibers and design parameters of MWK composites are considered in the model. Then, the elastic properties of MWK fabric composites are predicted by using an averaging method. The experiments are also conducted on the MWK fabric composites to compare the predicted results with the experimental results for the verification of suggested model. The predicted elastic properties are in reasonably good agreement with the experimental values. Finally the effects of design parameters of the MWK fabric composites are discussed.