TEsting of Fibre Steered Composites II (TEFSC II)

TEFSC将为快速丝束剪切(RTS)技术的工业应用开发关键推动因素，RTS是一种新型复合材料制造技术，它允许沿弯曲路径(纤维方向)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)中常见的缺陷(间隙/重叠/褶皱)。纤维导向显著提高了复合材料结构的性能。能够连续地定制方向并沿加载路径放置纤维可以显著促进复合材料的优化使用，从而在航空航天、汽车和风能等关键复合材料领域产生轻质、经济高效、可持续的复合材料部件。目前的设计方法利用一系列公认的机械特性测试(ASTM标准)来获得材料许用数据。这些测试方法适用于使用直纤维制造的息票。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彻底了解这些行为，因为导向复合材料可能会在第二个方向上产生影响。由于与认证有关的障碍，特别是对于严格监管的航空航天和空间应用，缺乏对纤维导向部件的既定测试方法阻碍了RTS过程的广泛采用。在TEFSC中，测试了不同转向角下的一系列纤维导向试件，为纤维导向部件的机械特性奠定了基础。TEFSC-II旨在进一步研究这一点，重点是纤维波纹度和体积分数变化对纤维控制部件的影响。这将降低这一新工艺的风险，并提供一条获得认证的途径，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得到推广。TEFSC-II项目将于2024年1月开始，为期6个月，届时将彻底了解纤维导向部件的机械性能。TEFSC-II的成功完成将为认证铺平道路，加速在航空航天和空间等高度监管的应用中采用RTS。

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.