Filament Winding Process Research Articles

Multi-response optimization of T300/epoxy prepreg tape-wound cylinder by grey relational analysis coupled with the response surface method

This study investigates the multi-objective optimization of quality characteristics for a T300/epoxy prepreg tape-wound cylinder. The method integrates the Taguchi method, grey relational analysis (GRA) and response surface methodology, and is adopted to improve tensile strength and reduce residual stress. In the winding process, the main process parameters involving winding tension, pressure, temperature and speed are selected to evaluate the parametric influences on tensile strength and residual stress. Experiments are conducted using the Box–Behnken design. Based on principal component analysis, the grey relational grades are properly established to convert multi-responses into an individual objective problem. Then the response surface method is used to build a second-order model of grey relational grade and predict the optimum parameters. The predictive accuracy of the developed model is proved by two test experiments with a low prediction error of less than 7%. The following process parameters, namely winding tension 124.29 N, pressure 2000 N, temperature 40 °C and speed 10.65 rpm, have the highest grey relational grade and give better quality characteristics in terms of tensile strength and residual stress. The confirmation experiment shows that better results are obtained with GRA improved by the proposed method than with ordinary GRA. The proposed method is proved to be feasible and can be applied to optimize the multi-objective problem in the filament winding process.

Experimental Investigation of Energy Absorption of ‎Partially Wrapped Thin-Walled ‎Aluminium-Glass/Epoxy Tube Subjected to Quasi-Static Loading

This paper describes the failure modes and energy absorption capability of partially wrapped aluminium-glass/epoxy tubes, subjected to quasi-static loading. ‎These tubes are used in aircraft and automobiles applications. Aluminium tubes were partially wrapped with 4, 6 and 8 glass/epoxy layers, using filament winding process. The 90◦ fiber orientation was used for glass/epoxy layers. Quasi-static loading of partially wrapped tubes was carried out at 5mm/min speed, using the universal ‎testing machine. The experimental results revealed that partially wrapped aluminium tubes are 42.54%, 47.77% and 28.91% more ‎efficient in energy absorption as compared to the simple aluminium tubes. Furthermore, the effect of glass/epoxy layers on ‎failure modes has also been described.

Analytical and numerical study based on experimental investigation of different curved sandwich composites manufactured by filament winding process

Sandwich structures, due to their high stiffness versus lightness ratio, are used progressively in high performance products. In order to design these structures with the most appropriate dimensions and material combinations, relevant mechanical properties must be well understood. This work aims to estimate the elastic properties of composite sandwiches from a curved structure taking into account the manufacturing process. In the case of filament winding process, specimens are necessarily cylindrical or barrel extracted. In our case, these types of structures are tested in 3- and 4-point bending to analyze their behavior experimentally using predictive models and design rules. Different configurations are adopted for bending tests to analyze and discuss global mechanical behavior. Furthermore, the acoustic emission technique is used to detect the initial appearance of damage mechanisms and to examine their evolution in terms of amplitude peaks and localization. Finally, a correlation between these acoustic emission signals and the damage initiation mechanisms is proposed, considering their effects on the mechanical behavior of each tested material.

Damage detection of carbon fibers in filament winding machines using an electrical resistance method

The aim of this research project is to detect the presence of fiber damage which occurs during the pretensioning of carbon fibers during the Filament Winding (FW) manufacturing process. The property of electrical conductivity of the carbon fibers was investigated to determine the existence and level of fiber damage. An experimental system was designed and developed to simulate the pretension system of a FW machine and measure the electrical change of broken fibers during the winding process. Toray T1000G-12K type of carbon fiber was used in the experimental stage of this research project. The damaged fibers were later used to obtain tension test pieces to evaluate the amount of damage which was caused by the pretensioning unit. The tension test was carried out according to ASTM 4018-99. The results demonstrated that the electrical conductive property of carbon fibers can be effectively used to evaluate the damage which occurs during the pretensioning in the FW process.

Filament winding of aramid/PA6 commingled yarns with in situ consolidation

The in situ consolidation of commingled yarns during filament winding is demonstrated on an aramid fibre-reinforced polyamide 6 material. This article is a systematic experimental investigation of the filament winding processing parameters, namely, the heat gun temperature, line speed, fibre tension, compaction force and preheater temperature. Optimizing the processing parameters in this filament winding process produced a fully consolidated material with a void content of ∼0.25% which is comparable to the material quality achieved by means of compression moulding using the same intermediate materials.

Influence of pretension on mechanical properties of carbon fiber in the filament winding process

The present study has investigated the effect of the roving tension (pretension force) on the strength of continuous carbon fiber used in the Filament Winding (FW) process. Pretension force is generally applied to composite products manufactured by FW technology to lay out the carbon fiber onto the cylindrical tube in a correct way. However, a considerable amount of damage occurs in the fibers during fiber movement trough pulleys in the pretension unit. A winding system was designed to simulate the process to understand the effects of the parameters such as roving tension, pulley diameter, and contact angle between pulley and fiber. Several experimental tests have been performed by changing pulley diameters and tension forces to understand the effect of these parameters. According to these experiments, the angle between the pulley and the amount of force applied to the carbon fiber generate the damage on the carbon fiber. Tension tests were also conducted to evaluate the strength of the damaged and undamaged carbon fiber. Experimental results indicate that the tensile strength of carbon fiber is reduced by 10 to 43% because of a change to the roving tension (pretensioning) parameters.

Design and Empirical Analysis of Selected Machine Elements from Composite Materials is Better to Use

Weight reducing weights, improving mechanical properties and maintaining strength of mechanical components are critical task in all manufacturing industries. However, this compressive advantage was achieved by the proper design, manufacturing and material selection of composite materials. Thus, the objective of this paper was to design and analyse a composite tailstock dead centre support to improve the traditional metallic material tailstock dead centre supports. Since, this replacement of composite materials for traditional metallic materials have many advantages because of higher specific stiffness, wear resistance, light weight, and strength of composite materials. In this empirical study was included and addressed with the replacement of conventional steel tailstock dead centre support from composite materials. Since the HS Glass/Epoxy is used as composite material and the weight minimization improving design parameters were done in the study. However the design optimization analysis indicates that, there was significant improvement is observed in the performance of tailstock dead centre support (in terms of weight, strength, thermal resistance). The study also attempt analyses has the deflection, the effects of stresses, wear-resistance, thermal effect natural frequencies under subjected loads using mathematical analysis were done. In the conclusion, the study investigates that light weight, safe and economical tailstock supports are made from HS carbon/Epoxy material using filament winding process. As well supplementary evaluation carried out for both steel and composite materials and weight of the tailstock dead centre support is optimized and stress intensity factor found for both Steel and composite tailstock dead centre support will consider.

Effects of Mechanical Surface Treatment on Bonding between Aluminum and Carbon/Epoxy Composites

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites, especially carbon/epoxy, have been attracting interest from offshore oil and gas industry as alternatives to metals for deepwater risers due to their very high performance besides being light weight. Composite risers, however, require an inner liner of metal to prevent leakage and damage to the outer composite layers. The bonding between the composites and the metal liner is critical for the overall integrity of the riser. In this study, two mechanical surface treatment methods, grit blasting and grooving, are used to modify aluminum liner surface. Representative composite pipe specimens consisting of these aluminum liners and carbon/epoxy composites were fabricated using filament winding process. Effects of the surface treatments on the liner-composites bonding are investigated by loading the specimens under axial compression. The liner-composite bonding, de-bonding process and the progressive failure mechanism were studied with the use of finite element simulation tools. The grooving method was found to provide a better bonding than the grit blasting process. Details of the fabrication and the testing, as well as the analysis of the results are presented in the paper.

Analysis of Filament Winding Processes and Potential Equipment Technologies

The filament winding technique has evolved in recent decades moving from classical lathe-type towards winding with an increased number of degrees of freedom using more complex equipment. These advancements complicate the selection of an optimum winding machine set-up for the realization of particular winding methods and correlating part designs. This is further complicated by the variety of approaches. In order to investigate existing equipment technologies regarding feasibility, operational and economic aspects, different filament winding equipment is established in an experimental environment. Thereby advantageous solutions can be assigned to particular winding methods and the selection of appropriate filament winding equipment is facilitated.

Influence of hydrothermal ageing on the compressive behaviour of glass fibre/epoxy composite pipes

The effects of hydrothermal ageing on the crushing behaviour of glass fibre-reinforced epoxy (GRE) pipes are discussed. Pipes with three different winding angles (±45°, ±55°, ±63°) were manufactured by filament winding process. The pipes were then hydrothermally aged in tap water at a constant temperature of 80°C for periods of 500, 1000, and 1500h. Uniaxial compressive tests were conducted on the virgin and aged samples using a universal testing machine in accordance with ASTM D695-10. The tests were also performed at temperatures ranging from room temperature (RT) at 25°C to 45°C and 65°C to study the response of the pipes at elevated temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images were captured and the relationship between the ageing period and strength of the GRE pipes was determined. The results indicate that the strength of the GRE pipes significantly decreases with increase in the temperature and ageing period. On the contrary, the strength increases as the winding angles decrease. The compressive strength of the pipes was also predicted using a Berbinau’s based model and was found to correlate well with the earlier obtained experimental results yielding a maximum variation of less than ∼25%.

Design and Manufacturing of a Composite Drive Shaft

In this study, a composite drive shaft for heavy commercial vehicles is designed and manufactured. The carbon/epoxy composite material is used for the shaft tube and the end joints are made of steel. The material properties of the carbon/epoxy composite are obtained by performing coupon tests. The shaft tube is modeled using ANSYS finite element software. The static, buckling and modal analysis are achieved to obtain the Tsai-Wu strength ratio, the critical buckling torque and free vibration frequencies, respectively. The shaft tube is manufactured by using filament winding method. The steel end connections are bonded to the shaft tube during the filament winding process.

A kind of liquid-like MWCNT reinforcements for T1000 carbon fibre filament winding composites

An intractable problem has been revealed that the resin matrix viscosity was rising obviously after the addition of solid nano-fillers involving all kinds of surface chemical modification, causing the degraded processing properties and defective structure in the polymer composites. Therefore, the application of nano-fillers in the filament winding processing of carbon fibre composites is severely limited, in which low initial viscosity of resin matrix is required under processing temperature to ensure the impregnation of the resin to fibres. In this study, a kind of liquid-like MWCNT reinforcements (L-MWCNTs) were fabricated and explored as nano-reinforcements for T1000 carbon fibre filament winding composites. Some technical means such as transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to analyze the dispersion state of L-MWCNTs and interfacial interaction of the resulting composites. The mechanical properties of carbon fibre filament winding composites were characterized through Naval Ordinance Laboratory-ring burst tests and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) tests. The results showed that the L-MWCNTs can be uniformly dispersed in an epoxy matrix without deteriorating good processing performances for the filament winding composites. The resin matrix containing the L-MWCNTs exhibited a lower surface energy and better interface bonding with T1000 carbon fibre than that of the neat epoxy. Through the addition of 6 wt% L-MWCNTs, an enhancement of 15% in tensile strength, 28% in ILSS, as well as 14.8 °C in Tg was realized for T1000 carbon fibre composites. The L-MWCNTs can exhibit important application values as a nano-reinforcement for improving interfacial, mechanical and thermal properties of the existing carbon fibre composites.

Static and Cyclic Compressive Properties of Self-Compacting Concrete-Filled Flax Fiber–Reinforced Polymer Tubes

AbstractIn the present study, natural fiber (i.e., flax fiber) reinforced epoxy (FFRP) plates and tubes were prepared with a filament winding process. FFRP tubes with 150-mm diameter were filled with self-compacting concrete and tested in terms of static and cyclic compressive properties. Basalt fiber–reinforced epoxy (BFRP) plates and tubes were prepared and tested for comparison. The FFRP plate possesses a nominal tensile strength and modulus of 333 MPa and 48.5 GPa, respectively, and exhibits a nonlinear tensile strain-stress curve. Compared with the static tensile modulus of the FFRP plate, the strain modulus–controlled low-frequency cyclic test steadily decreases with the number of load-unload cycles as a result of cumulative damage, and the ultimate stress is also reduced by 36%. According to the static compression results, FFRP tubes exhibit a notable confinement effect on concrete cylinders. The confinement effectiveness coefficient determined by the static compression test ranges from 4 to 7 for ...

About the thermomechanical behaviour of a carbon fibre reinforced high-temperature thermoplastic composite

Abstract Novel high-temperature thermoplastic polymers offer potential advantages over thermoset ones and represent a promising alternative in advanced composite applications. This work proposes to determine the thermal properties and resistance of unidirectional carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic polyimide composite and to characterize the influence of temperature on its mechanical behaviour and properties, including tensile properties, interlaminar shear strength and failure mechanisms. Characterization is performed on composite tapes and on ring-shaped specimens manufactured using a heated-head thermoplastic filament winding process. Results show that the thermal degradation of such composite material occurs at temperature higher than 400 °C. The glass transition temperature is approximately 250 °C. The tensile strength is higher than 1200 MPa in the fibre direction on a temperature range varying from −50 to 250 °C. The material has also an outstanding fatigue strength under tension in this material direction. At 200 °C, the fatigue strength for a high number of cycles (2·10 6 ) is still approximately 50% of the static strength. One of the weak point of this composite laminate is the relatively low interlaminar shear strength at high temperature.

Investigation of the high velocity impact behavior of grid cylindrical composite structures

In this paper, the experimental behavior of grid cylindrical composite structures, which are used widely in engineering structures, under ballistic impact is investigated. For this purpose, some grid cylindrical composite specimens were manufactured by the filament winding process and perforated by projectile using the ballistic gas gun. Incident impact velocity and exit velocities of projectile were recorded in each test. The results show that the presence of the ribs prevents pervading of damaged area of one cell to its adjacent cells. The structure behaves differently against projectile with velocity near ballistic limit and higher velocities. The results demonstrated that, by getting close to the ribs location, ballistic limit velocity was increased. However, due to reduction in energy absorption mechanisms in grid composite structures which are impacted in higher velocity than ballistic limit, projectile was exited of grid samples at higher velocity than unstiffened composite shells. Also, investigation of delamination in composite shell and ribs, debonding between ribs and shell (or separation of ribs and shell), residual velocity of projectile, damaged area of the grid specimens and the effects of curvature in two different velocities are presented and the results are discussed. POLYM. COMPOS., 38:2603–2608, 2017. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers

Burst strength and impact behaviour of hydrothermally aged glass fibre/epoxy composite pipes

This study investigated the effects of water ageing and low-velocity impact loadings on E-glass fibre/epoxy composite pipes subjected to monotonic internal pressure. The pipes, which consisted of six antisymmetric layers with (±55°)3 winding angles, were manufactured by the filament winding process. The specimens were cut from the pipes to the required test length. The specimens were then subjected to the ageing process by being immersed in 80°C tap water for time intervals of 500, 1000, and 1500h. Impact loadings of three different energy levels (5J, 7.5J, and 10J) were applied, which were followed by monotonic burst tests. Scanning electron microscopy images were captured and the correlation between the ageing time and the level of impact energy on the pipes' burst strength was identified. The results indicated that the peak force and displacement increased as the impact energy increased. The monotonic burst test results revealed that the specimens that had been aged and were impacted by higher energy yielded lower burst strength. Weepage and eruption failures were observed depending on the applied impact energies.

Development and Mechanical Testing of Filament Wound FRP Composite Components

Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic composites are used for pipes, high pressure vessels, aircrafts, automobiles, sport goods and Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic composites are used for pipes, high pressure vessels, aircrafts, automobiles, sport goods and structural applications due to their high corrosion resistance, high specific strength, low density, low coefficient of thermal expansion, durability, low maintenance and low cost. This paper presents the development and mechanical testing of filament wound Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic composite hollow cylindrical components. In this present work, Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic composite hollow cylindrical components were manufactured by helical filament winding process. ASTM: D2584 standard test method for ignition loss of cured reinforced resins was conducted on the specimen to determine the fiber to resin ratio. The tensile test was conducted as per ASTM: D638 standard. The three point flexural test was conducted as per ASTM: D790 standard. The hoop tensile strength test was conducted as per ASTM: D2290 standard. The external loading characteristics were determined by conducting the ASTM: D2412 standard test. The tensile strength and flexural strength in the axial direction are 50.76 MPa and 425.46 MPa respectively. The hoop tensile strength and the parallel-plate loading (Compression) stiffness are 156.33 MPa and 2750 N/mm respectively.

Experimental analysis of transverse impact loading on composite cylinders

The present study consists on experimental analyses of composite cylinders made by filament winding process, which are under transverse impact loading. The results are shown and discussed considering the influence of the stacking sequence as well as the total thickness of the cylinders. Thus, the results are normalized regarding the stiffness of each cylinder, and there are discussions based on identified damages, different graphics (force, displacement and strain vs. time), energy balance between impactor and coupons, as well as elastic and dissipated energy ratios and response delays for different strain gauges positions on the cylinders. Finally, guidelines for designing composite cylinders are presented considering the aspects addressed by the experimental analyses.

DESIGN, ANALYSIS AND DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIAL PURPOSE TOOLS FOR COMPOSITE MANUFACTURING EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT

Advanced materials are widely used in high performance structures that profit from their high strength; high stiffness and low weight .Composite products are realized using different manufacturing processes to meet the functional, production rate, size and shape of the part. Now days most of the industries are mainly focusing on improvements in manufacturing techniques to reduce efforts as well as material wastage. Wet layup, compression molding, resin transfer molding, filament winding, pultrusion are the some of the well established process in composites. The present work mainly focused on some of the improvements in layup process and filament winding process. In layup process improvements, design and development of special purpose tool for noodle preparation (i.e. Radius fillers) for composite T, I, H sections is carried out. Comparison made on the existing and proposed design for the feasibility. In filament winding process improvements, design and development of special purpose mandrel for complex shaped filament wound composite parts is carried out based on the industrialization concept. Later part of work extended to the study of impact of winding angle on the filament wound composite part using NASTRAN software.

A New Methodology for Structural Health Monitoring Applications

This work presents a combination of vibration-based method and speckle shearography in order to identify, locate and quantify the damage in composite structures. The experiments were carried out on laboratory specimens, which consist in cylinders made of carbon fiber and epoxy resin via filament winding process. Twelve composite specimens were considered in this study. Three different stacking sequence were tested: Type A [90/60/-60/90/60/-60/90]S, Type B [90/30/-30/90/30/-30/90]S and Type C [90/30/-60/60/-60/30/-30]S. Firstly, Frequency Response Functions (FRF's), for intact and damaged structures, were obtained by using the excitation caused by an impact hammer and the signal gathered by two accelerometers sensors attached in suitable positions. The results were analyzed by using a new damage metric, where the metric values were compared in terms of their capability for identifying damage. After identifying the structural damage, there was application of the speckle shearography technique in order to locate and quantify the damage. In this technique, defects are usually detected based on the abnormity of slope fringes due to the fact that out-of-plane displacement derivative at the region with defects is much larger than that at the region without any defect. Finally, it was discussed the advantages and limitations to use vibration based method and damage metric combined to speckle shearography into the context of SHM.