Effect of the Geometries on the Fabric’s Formability

Abstract:

The composite materials are high on demand in various applications, because of the wide range of properties that they offer, for that, they need to adapt into complex shapes to serve as a functional part. So, the forming process must be mastered and studied to benefit from what composites offer. The most used manufacturing process for composite materials are the resin transfer molding (RTM), which require a preforming of the dry fabric into the desired shape. During the pre-forming process yarns networks orientation change and different defects can be generated due to a variety of factors that have a role in their appearance, such as the process settings, type of the reinforcement, the characteristics of the shapes’ geometry. In this study, we concentrate on the effect of the geometries’ characteristics on the appearance of the different defects and the induced shear on the fabric. Different geometries have been selected based on a benchmark of the shapes studied in the literature [1–3]. The pre-forming was conducted on 3 types of dry fabrics. Woven and non-woven, balanced, and unbalanced fabrics have been intentionally selected as fabrics with completely different structures (type of material, weaves, balance...) to observe the change in the fabric’s behavior and he induceddefects, in terms of profil, location and amplitude.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volume 926)
• Pages: 1336-1342
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-12qw7i
• Online since: July 2022
• Authors: Rym Azzouz*, Samir Allaoui
• Keywords: Defects, Fabrics/Textiles, Formability, Forming

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