SIMulation of new manufacturing PROcesses for Composite Structures (SIMPROCS)

聚合物基复合材料的一个特殊方面是，在大多数情况下，材料结构在制造的最后阶段确定。这既提供了优势，也带来了挑战。现有的复合材料技术正在走向成熟(例如空中客车A350和波音787)，正在开发新的材料形式，以进一步利用复合材料可以提供的机会(例如，空间特性不同、多功能、重量轻)。详细的材料微观结构(如最终纤维路径、局部纤维体积分数和缺陷)由制造过程中涉及的各种工艺决定。这些细节最终控制着复合材料结构的完整性，然而，在概念设计和应力分析的早期阶段，这些信息是不可用的。缺乏合适的预测工具意味着，复合材料结构的设计往往基于昂贵的设计、原型、测试和重新设计的迭代。这一平台赠款将帮助用完全预测分析能力取代一些经验主义。将开发一套先进的复合制造模拟工具，并将建立一支由经验丰富的研究人员组成的专门团队，以支持关于新的和新兴制造方法的新模拟能力的知识。在自动纤维贴装(AFP)制造的零件中，大部分丝束路径优化是在制造阶段完成的，以提高零件质量和生产率。这项研究将开发能够准确预测成品几何形状和纤维路径的数值模型，使虚拟制造数据在设计的更早阶段就可用，确保在第一时间正确制造零件，并将缺陷降至最低。对于液体模塑技术，有必要使用稳定技术在搬运、沉积、悬垂、注入或高压注射过程中控制可变形纤维预制件。然而，由于缺乏合适的建模工具，其中一些技术尚未得到广泛应用。该团队将在他们对复合前驱体、复杂预制件和预浸料的压实和固结过程的广泛了解的基础上，设计工艺模拟工具，以充分释放新的液体模塑技术的潜力。为了最大限度地扩大这项研究的影响，该团队将确保模拟工具适用于未来的工业化。生成的软件将被充分记录、优化和健壮，因此它可以作为与学术界和工业界就先进的复合材料工艺模拟技术进行合作研究的焦点。从长远来看，将探索混杂预制件和定向不连续纤维复合材料。混合预制件包含量身定做的金属插件或增强件(例如，通过附加层制造生产)。只有当适当的数值工具可用于适当的多材料过程模拟时，这些技术才能被优化。基于新型制造方法的定向不连续纤维复合材料需要新的本构模型和工艺模拟工具，以便能够准确预测其复杂的成形特征、热变形和最终微观结构，以便被不同行业采用。该平台处于复合材料技术的前沿，处于非常有利的地位，可以领先于当前的制造模式，在建模和理解方面充其量是跟上技术发展的步伐，并为未来的制造铺平道路。

A particular aspect of polymer matrix composites is that in most cases the material structure is defined in the final stages of manufacture. This provides both advantages and challenges. Existing composites technologies are reaching maturity (e.g. Airbus A350 and Boeing 787), and new material forms are being developed to take further advantage of the opportunities that composites can offer (e.g. spatially varying properties, multi- functionality, light weight). The detailed material microstructure (e.g. final fibre paths, local fibre volume fraction and imperfections) is determined by the various processes involved in their manufacture. These details ultimately control the integrity of composite structures, however this information is not available at the early stages of conceptual design and stress analysis. This lack of suitable predictive tools means that the design of composite structures is often based on costly iterations of design, prototyping, testing and redesign.This Platform Grant will help replace some of this empiricism with fully predictive analysis capabilities. A suite of advanced composite manufacturing simulation tools will be developed, and a dedicated team of experienced researchers will be established to sustain knowledge on new simulation capabilities for new and emerging manufacturing methods. In parts made by Automated Fibre Placement (AFP) much of the tow path optimisation to improve part quality and production rate is done at the manufacturing stage. The research will develop numerical models that can accurately predict the as-manufactured geometry and fibre paths, making virtual manufacturing data available at a much earlier stage of design, ensuring parts are manufactured right-first-time with a minimum of defects.For liquid moulding technologies, it is necessary to control the deformable fibre preforms during handling, deposition, draping, infusion or high pressure injection using stabilisation techniques. However, some of these technologies are not yet widely used due to the lack of suitable modelling tools. The team will build on their extensive understanding of the compaction and consolidation processes in composite precursors, complex preforms and prepregs to devise process simulation tools that will unlock the full potential of new liquid moulding technologies.To maximise the reach of this research, the team will ensure that the simulation tools are suitable for future industrialisation. The software generated will be fully documented, optimised and robust, so that it can serve as a focal point for collaborative research with academia and industry on advanced process simulation techniques for composites. In the longer term, hybrid preforms and aligned discontinuous fibre composites will be explored. Hybrid preforms incorporate tailored metallic inserts or reinforcements (e.g. produced via additive layer manufacturing). Such technologies can only be optimised if appropriate numerical tools are available for suitable multi-material process simulation. Aligned discontinuous fibre composites based on novel manufacturing methods require new constitutive models and process simulation tools so that their complex forming characteristics, thermal distortion and final microstructure can be accurately predicted to facilitate their adoption by different industries.Working at the forefront of composites technologies, this Platform Grant stands in a highly advantageous position to step ahead of the current manufacturing paradigm, where modelling and understanding are at best catching up with the technology development, and pave the way for the manufacturing of tomorrow.