PFI-TT: Advanced Prepreg Materials for Robust, Low-Cost Manufacture of Composite Structures

这个PFI项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力包括降低航空航天、风能、国防和其他领域的复合材料结构制造的生产成本和与成本相关的进入壁垒。建议的技术将使客户能够在生产过程中有效和可靠地控制工艺引起的缺陷，降低部件报废率或返工率、生产成本和周期时间，同时提高制造效率和坚固性。此外，用拟议技术制造的材料将为复合材料的现场修复提供可行的解决方案，取代有问题的遗留方法，并扰乱一个有望增长的领域。在教育方面，该项目将为参与者提供培训技术进步和商业化的机会，并将促进学术界和业界参与者之间的合作。从科学上讲，该项目将有助于更深入和更广泛地了解与复合材料和生产工艺相关的工程科学和技术。在社会方面，该项目将提高美国在涉及国家利益的多个部门在复合材料、先进材料和先进制造方面的技术竞争力，创造就业机会，并为经济增长和长期繁荣做出贡献。拟议中的项目将开发材料和加工技术，以解决与复合材料结构制造相关的长期效率和坚固挑战。包括航空航天在内的许多行业寻求利用低压外压(OOA)工艺来提高生产率和降低成本。然而，商业化的OOA预浸料材料(浸渍液体树脂的纤维)的设计不够理想，在非理想的制造条件下会导致不可接受的缺陷。该项目将开发通过部分浸渍和不连续的树脂分布相结合的方法来生产具有优化格式的高级预浸料。项目团队将(1)开发可工业规模的生产方法，(2)为两个具有强烈市场需求的应用(航空结构制造和现场维修)创造原型材料，(3)在现实条件下进行放大试验，以进行验证和示范。这些活动需要了解、使用和控制复杂的物理过程，包括多尺度纤维床的变形、多相流体流动和微结构缺陷的形成。技术工作将促进先进制造、材料科学和复合材料加工方面的知识，并导致生产创新预浸料的可行方法。总体而言，该项目将通过利用和应用基本见解，开发新的基于科学的材料和系统，并为进一步发展提供技术基础来获得智力价值。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this PFI project includes lowering production costs and cost-related entry barriers for the manufacturing of composite structures in aerospace, wind energy, defense, and other fields. The proposed technology will allow customers to effectively and reliably control process-induced defects during production, reducing rates of part rejection or rework, production costs, and cycle times, while increasing manufacturing efficiency and robustness. Moreover, the materials manufactured with the proposed technology will provide a viable solution for in-field repair of composites, replacing problematic legacy methods and disrupting an area poised for growth. Educationally, the project will provide opportunities to train participants in technology advancement and commercialization, and will foster cooperation between academic and industry participants. Scientifically, the project will contribute to a deeper and broader understanding of engineering science and technology associated with composite materials and production processes. Societally, the project will increase U.S. technical competitiveness in composites, advanced materials, and advanced manufacturing across multiple sectors of national interest, create jobs, and contribute to economic growth and long-term prosperity.The proposed project will develop material and process technologies that address long-standing efficiency and robustness challenges associated with manufacturing of composite structures. Many sectors, including aerospace, seek to utilize low-pressure out-of-autoclave (OoA) processing to improve production rates and reduce costs. However, commercial OoA prepreg materials (fibers impregnated with liquid resin) possess a sub-optimal design that results in unacceptable defects in non-ideal manufacturing conditions. This project will develop methods for producing advanced prepregs with an optimized format by combining partial impregnation and a discontinuous resin distribution. The project team will (1) develop industrially-scalable production methods, (2) create prototype materials for two applications with strong market needs (aerospace structure fabrication, and in-field repair), and (3) perform scale-up trials in realistic conditions for validation and demonstration. These activities require knowledge, use, and control of complex physical processes, including deformation of multi-scale fiber beds, multi-phase fluid flow, and microstructural defect formation. Technical work will advance knowledge in advanced manufacturing, materials science, and composites processing, and lead to viable methods for producing innovative prepregs. Overall, the project will derive intellectual merit from leveraging and applying fundamental insights, developing new science-based materials and systems, and providing a technical basis for further advancement.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.