Formability Experiments for Unidirectional Thermoplastic Composites

Abstract:

Reliable composite forming experiments are required to characterize composite formability, to aid material development, and to validate process simulations models. Due to practical reasons, however, typically a limited amount of forming configurations is studied. The objective of this study is, therefore, to develop a methodology for obtaining controlled forming results in a wide range of configurations. Press forming experiments using a dome geometry were used to explore the formability of two commercial unidirectional thermoplastic composite materials. A variety of forming configurations was employed by changing the blank dimensions and layup. The observation of wrinkling defects was simplified by leaving an additional 3 mm tool gap. Blank width and layup had the most influence on the wrinkling severity, followed by blank thickness and length. Quasi-isotropic layups were found to produce wrinkles in nearly all cases, confirming a difficulty in general to form double curved parts. The size and number of wrinkles in these layups were found to change with the stacking sequence. Cross-ply layups showed better formability, but significant wrinkles were still observed depending on the orientation of the blank relative to the layup. The formability experiments using a dome geometry provided a reliable methodology for controlled forming results in many configurations using a generic toolset. Additionally, a comprehensive comparison of formability for two commercial thermoplastic UD materials in a variety of scenarios was provided.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volume 926)
• Pages: 1358-1371
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-x3g086
• Online since: July 2022
• Authors: Dennis Brands*, Luca G. di Genova, E. Rens Pierik, Wouter Johannes Bernardus Grouve, Sebastiaan Wijskamp, Remko Akkerman
• Keywords: Carbon Fiber, Composite Forming, Formability, Thermoplastic, Unidirectional, Wrinkling

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