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，材料结构是在制造的最后阶段确定的。这既带来了优势，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），并且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，空间变化特性、多功能性、轻质）。详细的材料微观结构（例如最终纤维路径、局部纤维体积分数和缺陷）由其制造过程中涉及的各种工艺确定。这些细节最终控制着复合材料结构的完整性，然而这些信息在概念设计和应力分析的早期阶段是不可用的。缺乏合适的预测工具意味着复合材料结构的设计通常是基于昂贵的设计、原型、测试和重新设计的迭代。该平台赠款将有助于用完全的预测分析能力取代一些这种重复性。将开发一套先进的复合材料制造模拟工具，并将建立一支由经验丰富的研究人员组成的专门团队，以保持对新的和新兴的制造方法的新模拟能力的了解。在由自动纤维铺放（AFP）制造的部件中，用于提高部件质量和生产率的大部分丝束路径优化都是在制造阶段完成的。该研究将开发能够准确预测制造几何形状和纤维路径的数值模型，在设计的早期阶段提供虚拟制造数据，确保零件一次制造正确，缺陷最少。对于液体成型技术，有必要在处理、沉积、覆盖、注入或使用稳定技术进行高压注射期间控制可变形纤维预制件。然而，由于缺乏适当的建模工具，其中一些技术尚未得到广泛使用。该团队将基于对复合材料前体、复杂预成型件和预成型件的压实和固结过程的广泛理解，设计过程模拟工具，以释放新的液体成型技术的全部潜力。为了最大限度地扩大这项研究的范围，该团队将确保模拟工具适用于未来的工业化。生成的软件将被完整记录，优化和强大，因此它可以作为与学术界和工业界合作研究复合材料先进工艺模拟技术的焦点。从长远来看，混合预制件和对齐的不连续纤维复合材料将被探索。混合预制件结合定制的金属插入件或增强件（例如，通过增材层制造生产）。只有当合适的数值工具可用于合适的多材料工艺模拟时，才能优化这些技术。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，以便准确预测其复杂的成形特性、热变形和最终微观结构，以促进其在不同行业的应用。该平台赠款处于复合材料技术的最前沿，处于领先于当前制造模式的高度优势地位，在那里，建模和理解最多能赶上技术发展，为明天的制造铺平道路。

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.