DEsign MEthodology for fibre steered Composite structures (DEMEC)

在车辆中使用轻量化解决方案是英国/欧盟2050年净零的关键。提高英国生产具有先进性能特征和较低制造成本的轻质结构的能力，满足全球市场的需求，为就业和繁荣提供了巨大的机会。目前，在聚合物基质中加入纤维制成的复合材料是运输应用中最先进的解决方案，因为它们具有高强度和高刚性的特殊组合，而且比重较低。目前，它们的制造仅限于标准的僵硬解决方案--主要是直纤维层--而且价格昂贵。这些都阻碍了复合材料应用的扩展，限制了整体经济和可持续发展的机会。DEMEC提出了复合材料结构设计/制造的范式转变。该项目基于快速牵拉剪切(RTS)工艺。DEMEC将由RTS的发起人iCOMAT领导，同时将由充当顾问角色的航空航天Tier1(Solvay)提供支持。RTS是世界上第一个自动化复合材料制造工艺，它可以沿着弯曲路径(纤维转向)沉积广泛的预浸渍胶带，没有缺陷，能够以最小的环境足迹制造具有成本效益的超轻先进复合材料结构。纤维转向通过将纤维与主要加载路径和部件几何形状对齐来提供定制/高效的设计。这可以显著提高结构的完整性，使用更少的层，最大限度地减少材料使用，从而最大限度地减少重量、生产成本和环境足迹。此外，纤维导向可以优化复合材料结构的成型过程，因为纤维可以在2D(扁平)预制件中预先导向，以在3D部分实现所需的纤维取向，从而确保无缺陷工艺。因此，Lay Play(纤维导向)和Form为复杂形状的结构提供了一条有吸引力的制造路线。DEMEC将致力于开发一套完整的设计优化工作流程，用于使用Lay Platform和Form工艺制造复杂形状的结构。将开发/集成适当的结构分析和工艺模拟，提供一个完全自动化的框架，该框架将极大地扩展复合材料结构的设计空间。将设计/制造一个具有代表性的航空航天曲梁(文章)，以验证开发的工作流程。DEMEC将为RTS成为复合材料制造领域的新尖端技术铺平道路，使英国处于先进复合材料的驾驶座。

Utilisation of lightweight solutions in vehicles is key to UK's/EU's 2050 Net Zero. Enhancing the UK's capability to produce lightweight structures with advanced performance characteristics and lower manufacturing cost, addressing the needs of the global market, presents an enormous opportunity for jobs and prosperity. Currently, composites made of fibres incorporated in a polymeric matrix are the most advanced solution for transport applications due to their exceptional combination of high strength and rigidity with a low specific weight. Currently, their manufacture is limited to standard inflexible solutions -- mostly layers of straight fibres -- and expensive. These hinder the expansion of composite materials applications and limit the overall economic and sustainability opportunity.DEMEC puts forward a paradigm shift in designing/manufacturing composite-structures. The project is based on the Rapid-Tow-Shearing (RTS) process. DEMEC will be led by iCOMAT who are the originator of RTS, whilst will be supported by an aerospace Tier1 (Solvay) acting on an advisory-role.RTS is the world's first automated composites manufacturing process that can deposit wide pre-impregnated tapes along curved paths (fibre-steering) without defects enabling the manufacture of cost-effective ultra-lightweight advanced composite structures with minimum environmental footprint.Fibre-steering offers tailored/efficient designs by aligning fibres with the primary load-paths and the component-geometry. This can significantly improve structural-integrity using considerably fewer layers minimising material usage and thus weight, production costs and environmental footprint. In addition, fibre-steering can optimise the forming process of composite structures as fibres can be pre-steered in the 2D (flat) preform to achieve the required fibre orientation in the 3D part ensuring a defect-free process. Therefore, lay flat (fibre-steering) and form offers an attractive manufacturing-route for complex-shaped structures.DEMEC will address the development of a complete design optimisation workflow for the manufacture of complex-shaped structures using the lay flat and form process. Appropriate structural analysis and process simulation will be developed/integrated offering a fully automated framework that will drastically expand the design space of composite-structures. A representative aerospace-curved-beam (article) will be designed/manufactured to validate the developed workflow.DEMEC will pave the way for RTS to become the new state-of-the-art in composites manufacture placing the UK at the driver's seat of advanced composites.