GOALI/IUCRP: Modeling of Co-mingled Glass/Thermoplastic Fabrics for Low Cost/High Volume Composites Manufacturing

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9800483 Chen The successful integration of lightweight composite structures into high volume applications is impeded by the lack of cost-effective, high quality manufacturing processes for these materials. This research will investigate the processing of co-mingled, non-crimp fabrics in a thermoplastic composite matrix. The goal of this research is to utilize a combination of experimentation, analytical modeling, and numerical simulation of the stamping process to optimize the material structure and the process parameters. In addition to regular interactions between the University and the industrial collaborator's (Ford Motor Company) researchers, access to the stamping equipment at Ford will lead to a more accurate understanding of the material behavior at the production scale, and quick turnaround of the results to the industrial process. It is anticipated that simulation of the manufacturing process can be used in conjunction with material characterization tests to reduce development cycle time, lower tooling costs, guide materials selection, and improve product and process reliability.