TEsting of Fibre Steered Composites II (TEFSC II)

TEFSC将为工业采用快速剪切（RTS）开发关键的推动因素，RTS是一种新型复合材料制造技术，它允许沿弯曲路径（纤维导向）放置宽碳带，而不会出现现有自动纤维放置/胶带铺设技术（AFP/ATL）通常出现的缺陷（间隙/重叠/褶皱）。纤维转向极大地提高了复合材料结构的结构性能。能够不断定制方向并沿着载荷路径放置纤维，可以为复合材料的优化使用做出重大贡献，从而在航空航天、航天、汽车和风能等关键复合材料领域实现轻质、经济、可持续的复合材料组件。目前的设计方法利用一系列完善的机械特性测试（ASTM标准）来获得材料允许值数据。这些测试方法适用于用直纤维制造的卷板。然而，弯曲纤维设计产生的独特性能和行为意味着必须开发新的测试方法来全面了解这些行为，因为定向复合材料可能导致二次方向的影响。由于与认证相关的障碍，特别是对于高度管制的航空航天和空间应用，缺乏成熟的纤维导向组件测试方法阻碍了RTS过程的广泛采用。TEFSC- ii建立在TEFSC （IUK-10039205）之上。在TEFSC中，测试了一系列不同转向角度的纤维导向组件，为纤维导向组件的机械特性奠定了基础。TEFSC-II旨在进一步研究这一点，重点关注纤维波纹度和体积分数变化对纤维导向部件的影响。这将降低风险，并为这种新工艺的认证提供途径，使其能够在未来作为制造下一代复合材料部件的可行手段向前发展。TEFSC-II项目将于2024年1月开始，为期6个月，届时将建立对纤维导向组件机械行为的全面了解。TEFSC-II的成功完成将为认证铺平道路，加速RTS在航空航天等高度管制应用中的采用。

TEFSC will develop key enablers for the industrial adoption of the Rapid-Tow-Shearing (RTS), a novel composites manufacturing technology, which allows the placement of wide carbon tapes along curved paths (fibre-steering) without the defects (gaps/overlaps/wrinkles) typically seen with existing Automated Fibre Placement / Tape Laying technologies (AFP/ATL). Fibre steering drastically increases the structural performance of composite structures. Being able to continuously tailor orientations and place fibres along load-paths can contribute significantly towards the optimised use of composite materials, leading to lightweight cost-effective sustainable composite components across crucial composite sectors such as aerospace, space, automotive and wind energy.Current design methods make use of a series of well-established mechanical characterisation tests (ASTM standards) to obtain material allowables data. These test methods are suitable for coupons manufactured using straight fibres. However, the unique properties and behaviours arising from curved fibre designs mean that new test methods must be developed to provide a thorough understanding of these behaviours as steered composites can lead to effects in the secondary direction. The lack of an established testing method for fibre-steered components hinders wide adoption of the RTS process due to barriers related to certification, especially for highly regulated aerospace and space applications.TEFSC-II builds upon TEFSC (IUK-10039205). In TEFSC, a series of fibre-steered coupons at different steering-angles were tested setting the basis for mechanical characterisation of fibre-steered components. TEFSC-II aims to further investigate this focusing on the effect of fibre-waviness and volume-fraction variations on fibre-steered parts. This will de-risk and provide a route to certification of this novel process, to enable it to be taken forward in the future as a viable means for manufacturing the next generation of composite components.The TEFSC-II project will begin in January 2024 and runs for 6 months, by which point thorough understanding of the mechanical behaviour of fibre-steered components will be established. Successful completion of TEFSC-II will pave the way for certification accelerating adoption of RTS in highly regulated applications such as aerospace and space.