Optimum design of steered-tow composite structures via characterization of automated fibre placement induced defects

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Automatic Fiber Placement (AFP) is an advanced technology for manufacturing composite structures of complex geometry. Boeing, Airbus and other world leading aircraft manufacturers have recently started to use this process for aviation products because its capability of automated fabrication reduces manual labour, improves product quality and cuts the final cost. Compared to other composite manufacturing processes, AFP gives the freedom of steering fiber-tow orientations along curvilinear paths, controlling the tow speed and spatially placing the required number of fibers throughout a complex structural geometry. This results in enhanced structural performance and reduced weight. Although these improvements are promising, two key factors currently hinder the fulfillment of AFP potential. The first is a manufacturing issue that emerges with the formation of defects with unknown impact on the mechanical properties of the final product. The second is a design matter, which consists of the exploitation of the steering fiber capabilities to optimize the structural performance. This project aims at the characterization of the impact of process-induced defects on the mechanical properties with the final aim of defining optimized steered fiber paths and minimizing undesirable detrimental defects. The work requires the intertwining of complementary expertise from a) composite material characterization, b) failure analysis and prediction models, c) multiscale modelling and structural optimization, as well as d) know-how about the AFP process. Each member of the research team will provide a required competence: a) from École Polytechnique de Montréal; b) and c) from McGill University, d) from NRC-IAR and the industrial partners (Bombardier Aerospace and Composite Atlantic). The expected outcomes of this project are both scientific and economic. The first is knowledge contribution that will allow the industrial partners to be the Canadian leaders in AFP manufacturing, as they plan to be. The second is the impact of the added knowledge on the Canadian economy, especially for the aircraft industry. Several students involved in this collaborative research will develop skills that the industrial partners are looking for.