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Motivation: A little Fun with Composites!

Nobody sails metal boards!

Carbon/Epoxy SAE fun

ME 412
First a little Business
Adds/Drops after class today call me crazy add max (10 teams) *(3,4)
That is what I have specimens for 38ish people
LAB
lots-o-reading on PLEARN
print out lab handout
quick read ASTM specs and Vishay strain info

BOOKs El Cartel now known as Cal Poly Store should have some
by Friday?

Lets Get Going


Motivation Composite Materials
Dig into some the subject Why Composites?
A little on cost and manufacturing

Somewhat New Cal Poly Composite Work


8 foot radius wind turbine rotor

Carbon/E-glass-Epoxy
Vacuum-infused
Bonded Root Joint

Paper study 9 meter blade MS Thesis right now


Compression Molding (zero waste?) MS

Crash Energy Management Table


Light-Rail Application
Honeycomb Sandwich MultiPurpose

More Composites Projects


Supermileage Wheels
Geez 4 ish years ago
Only way to learn composites mfg. by doing of course

Tooling two piece clamshell


Mold and prepreg layed up
in autoclave ready to go

Cured part out of mold

Composites what and why?


What is a composite?

Why Composites?

Why Composites

The specifics stiffness, strength


Performance Charts Misleading
I thought composites were good, Biaxial-Iso laminates barely win?

Figure 2.9 Daniel and Ishai


performance map of fibers used in
structural composites

Figure 1-24 Jones Strength and


stiffness of composite materials
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Analysis Example: Specific Stiffness/Strength


Calculations

Divide strength or stiffness by Weight Density


In silly American units lb / in lb / in = in
Some typical values alum vs carbon/epoxy
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Carbon/Epoxy
Su1 = 350 ksi
Su2 = 8ksi
E1 = 27 msi
E2 = 1.35 msi

g = .055 lb/in3
Aluminum 7075-T6
Su = 75 ksi
E = 10 msi

g = .100 lb/in3

The Specifics Advanced composites vs. metal,


wood, filled polymers
Su

Su/Dens

E/Density

(msi)

Weight
Density
(lb/in3)

(ksi)

103 in

106 in

Steel
4130 (Normalized)
Aermet 100

90
280

29
28

0.283
0.281

318
996

102
100

Aluminum 7075-T6

75

10.3

0.101

743

102

Titanium (6AL-4V)

150

16

0.16

938

100

Carbon (graphite)/ Epoxy


High Modulus (Long)
High Modulus (Trans)
Int Modulus (long)
Int Modulus (trans)
AS4 Quasi-Iso

170
3.5
350
8
---

40
0.9
27
1.35
13.8

0.055
0.055
0.06
0.06
0.06

3091
64
5833
133
---

727
16
450
23
231

S2 Glass/Epoxy (long)
S2 Glass/Epoxy (trans)

220
5

5.6
1.5

0.07
0.07

3143
71

80
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Nylon (30% Glass)


Nylon

25
11

1
0.175

0.05
0.04

500
275

20
4

Sitka Spruce

1.57

0.015

467

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Material System

Some Designer Points

Wood is good, metal too


Metal specific stiffness nearly
identical
If loads are in one direction
composites are phenomenal
But if you miss the loads,
composites will fail, transverse
properties are scary low
Fiber must be in the direction of
loads!

Force, Flow Load Pathare keys


for any structural designer
(DESIGN the FBD) then pick the
material

Get control of the geometry early


for composites to have a chance,
metal replacement hard, black
alum is inefficient

File: Material_specifics.xls

What else should the designer analyst worry about


when trading structural materials
Fracture Toughness (LEFM research area for composites)
Fibers arrest cracks but fiber is directional
Hard to put fibers through thickness, delams (stitch and needle)

Impact Strength (again still active research area)


strength after impact, FOD
again composites can be good (F1, Indy cars, fighter aircraft)

Fatigue endurance
Fibers again stop crack progression
Composites can be very good in fatigue (rotorcraft blades)
Look out for the other (joints and environment)

Creep
Fibers good, matrix not so good, data?

Other material design criteria continued

Hardness, wear
polymer matrix is soft. Wear is proportional to pressure, velocity,
hardness
Dimensional stability
can be good or bad, directional and of course matrix and fiber dependant
Thermal Stability
Same as dimensional, but watch out for high temps (which are really low
relative to metals) with polymer matrix composites. There are metal and
refractory matrix materials as well!
Hygroscopic sensitivity
Matrix swells and strains with water, watch out for chemical compatibility
Weatherability
Consider paints and coatings
Erosion resistance
Corrosion resistance
Watch out for batteries at your joints!
Consult galvanic series, coat and shield
Conductivity
Electrical conducts or doesnt conduct (lightning strike, EMI shielding)
Thermal
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So composites have SPECIFIC advantages. Many other


issues not addressed yet?
How to make it?
Cost or life-cycle cost, LCC?
Raw material cost (200$/lb in 70s to
20$/lb?) by 1990s for commercial apps)
Design Cost
Component fabrication costs
Assembly cost
Operating cost (weight, fuel transportation
apps, launch)
Maintenance cost
Salvage value, cost

Initial costs
Life-cycle costs

Sustainability recycle and reuse issues are active research areas and problematic for
thermosetting resin systems!

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Composites cost advantage?

When weight matters compost can win, the relative value of weight savings

Jones, Fig 1-27 Value of Weight Savings in Structures


(old data but relative nature still applies)

What is the Cross-Over Point for AUTOs Trucks ETC??

6 bucks a gallon?
An interesting economics problem

Now?

BMW I3 next slide

Material utilization factor can be good


Mufac = raw matl. Weight / final part weight

Or it costly put Ti, Alum chips on the floor

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BMW I3 No Longer Urban CONCEPT Vehicle


124 mpg equivalent
Range 81mi
http://blogs.motortrend.com/1
501_is_bmw_i3_profitable.ht
ml
The quirky-looking BMW i3 is the first carbonfiber-intensive car thats both affordable and built
in significant volumes. Those two qualifiers might
fit more comfortably in quotation marks, given
the $42,300 starting price and modest 100-a-day
production rate, but theyre apt by comparison
with the Lambos, McLarens, Ferraris, and Boeing
787s also built of the tough black fibers.

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Composites Cost Advantage?


Labor cost is directly related to part count.
Composite structures are generally composed of fewer parts
Integral part design is usually lighter too, they go hand in
hand.
But this can all evaporate if a lay-up takes many technicians
many hours to accomplish, or you scrap huge parts.
This is all controlled by design. One must think about this up
front and all along with mfg. engineers.
Composites must be concurrently engineered for costs to be
competitive.

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Brief Overview Manufacturing Techniques

Cost analysis leads us to manufacturing or fabrication


You all will be inventing this. But lets briefly review current practice,
methods some of which were discussed in ABC book.

What is the oldest, simplest and most commonly used method for
fabrication of a composite with a thermosetting resin system?

Advantages, disadvantages?

Which method may be best for tanks or torque tube driveshaft


medium or high volume production?

What is VARTM and RTM?

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Brief Overview Manufacturing Techniques


1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Filament Winding
Tape Wrapping
Fiber Placement
Autoclave Layup
Bladder molding
Liquid Molding (VRI, RTM, VARTM)
Injection Molding, SRIM
Sheet Molding Compound (Compression
Molding

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Always Think About How to Build It?


This is not restricted to Composites!
Composites = Concurrent Engineering
All at once team thinks about
Shape
Materials
Mfg. Design
Tools
Process and QC

Analysis/Design
Layup schedule
Lamina Type

Joints, Bonds, Inserts


Test Plan

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