Papers by Keyword: Thick Composites

Abstract: The investigation was concentrated on the through-thickness properties of thick-composite laminates, and the development of a novel test method and several specimens with two different shapes and three to four different sizes. The experiments were performed on thick composite specimens; and all through-thickness mechanical properties under compressive and tensile loading with their corresponding failure mechanisms were determined. Overall, the configuration of specimens and test method in this paper are efficient in obtaining the through-thickness properties of thick-composite laminates.

Abstract: A 3-D transient heat transfer finite element (FE) analysis was performed to simulate the curing process of thick thermoset composites. The simulated temperature was compared with the available experimental data to check the validity of the analysis. The influence of thickness of composite laminates on the temperature distribution was investigated, and how the size of laminates affects the inside temperature was also discussed. The results indicate that the laminate thickness rather than the laminate size has a significant influence on temperature distribution, and the 3-D analysis offers more accurate predictions than the 1-D analysis.