Polymer Composites in the Aerospace Industry

Book description

Polymer composites are increasingly used in aerospace applications due to properties such as strength and durability compared to weight. Edited by two leading authorities in the field, this book summarises key recent research on design, manufacture and performance of composite components for aerospace structures. Part one reviews the design and manufacture of different types of composite component. Part two discusses aspects of performance such as stiffness, strength, fatigue, impact and blast behaviour, response to temperature and humidity as well as non-destructive testing and monitoring techniques.

Table of contents

  1. Cover image
  2. Title page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Related titles
  5. Copyright
  6. List of contributors
  7. Woodhead Publishing Series in Composites Science and Engineering
  8. Introduction: engineering requirements for aerospace composite materials
    1. 1.1. Introduction
    2. 1.2. Analysis and design
    3. 1.3. Manufacturing techniques
    4. 1.4. Applications in aircraft construction
    5. 1.5. Conclusion
  9. Part One. Design and manufacture of composite components for aerospace structures
    1. 2. Modelling the structure and behaviour of 2D and 3D woven composites used in aerospace applications
      1. 2.1. Introduction
      2. 2.2. Architecture of a woven unit cell
      3. 2.3. Stiffness modelling: method of inclusions
      4. 2.4. Stress and strength modelling: finite element (FE) analysis
      5. 2.5. Conclusion
    2. 3. Manufacturing processes for composite materials and components for aerospace applications
      1. 3.1. Introduction
      2. 3.2. Key property and process requirements
      3. 3.3. Prepreg/autoclave processes
      4. 3.4. Filament winding
      5. 3.5. Automated prepreg processes: automated fibre placement and automated tape layup
      6. 3.6. Resin-infusion processes
      7. 3.7. Process monitoring
      8. 3.8. Conclusions
    3. 4. Buckling and compressive strength of laminates with optimized fibre-steering and layer-stacking for aerospace applications
      1. 4.1. Introduction
      2. 4.2. Elastic properties of laminates
      3. 4.3. Buckling analysis
      4. 4.4. Buckling optimization of straight fibre laminates
      5. 4.5. Variable angle fibres using continuous tow shearing
      6. 4.6. Compression after impact and damage tolerance
      7. 4.7. Conclusion
    4. 5. Manufacturing defects in composites and their effects on performance
      1. 5.1. Introduction
      2. 5.2. Defects in composite materials
      3. 5.3. Modelling with defects
      4. 5.4. Implications on cost-effective manufacturing
      5. 5.5. Mechanics-based analysis of defects
      6. 5.6. Summary
  10. Part Two. Composite performance in aerospace structure design
    1. 6. Modeling the stiffness and strength of aerospace structural elements
      1. 6.1. Introduction
      2. 6.2. Definition of structural elements
      3. 6.3. Modeling approaches
      4. 6.4. Woven composite materials
      5. 6.5. Modeling effect of anomalies
      6. 6.6. Future trends
      7. 6.7. Sources of further information and advice
    2. 7. Fatigue of fiber reinforced composites under multiaxial loading
      1. 7.1. Introduction
      2. 7.2. Fatigue behavior of continuous fiber composites under multiaxial loading
      3. 7.3. Fatigue behavior of continuous fiber reinforced composites under multiaxial loading
      4. 7.4. Multiaxial fatigue ratio
      5. 7.5. Fatigue life prediction criteria
      6. 7.6. Comments on life prediction criteria and damage mechanics
      7. 7.7. Conclusions
    3. 8. Fracture mechanics characterization of polymer composites for aerospace applications
      1. 8.1. Introduction
      2. 8.2. Applications of fracture mechanics of fibre-reinforced polymer-matrix (FRP) composites in aerospace
      3. 8.3. Fracture mechanics test methods for FRP composites
      4. 8.4. Fracture mechanics test data for selected FRP composites
      5. 8.5. Fracture mechanics testing of non-unidirectional FRP composites
      6. 8.6. Fracture mechanics testing under aerospace environmental conditions
      7. 8.7. Conclusions and future trends
    4. 9. Impact, post-impact strength and post-impact fatigue behaviour of polymer composites
      1. 9.1. Introduction
      2. 9.2. Nature of damage
      3. 9.3. Residual strength
      4. 9.4. Post-impact fatigue behaviour of polymer composite laminates
      5. 9.5. Prediction of impact damage extent, residual strength and post-impact fatigue
      6. 9.6. The damage-resistant structure: designing against impact and fatigue
      7. 9.7. Damage tolerance
      8. 9.8. Conclusions and future trends
    5. 10. Design and testing of crashworthy aerospace composite components
      1. 10.1. Introduction
      2. 10.2. Crashworthy design concepts for aircraft structures
      3. 10.3. Design of composite structural elements under crash loads
      4. 10.4. Design and crash test of composite helicopter frame structure
      5. 10.5. Conclusions and future trends
    6. 11. Design and failure analysis of composite bolted joints for aerospace composites
      1. 11.1. Introduction
      2. 11.2. Finite element model
      3. 11.3. Analysis of single-bolt joints
      4. 11.4. Analysis of multi-bolt joints
      5. 11.5. Failure analysis of joints
      6. 11.6. Future trends
      7. 11.7. Conclusions
      8. 11.8. Further sources of information
    7. 12. The response of aerospace composites to temperature and humidity
      1. 12.1. Introduction
      2. 12.2. Moisture absorption
      3. 12.3. Moisture sensitivity of matrix resins
      4. 12.4. Mechanism of moisture retention in aerospace epoxies
      5. 12.5. Anomalous effects
      6. 12.6. Thermal spiking
      7. 12.7. Thermo-mechanical response of resins
      8. 12.8. Effect of moisture on composite performance
      9. 12.9. Fibre-dominated properties
      10. 12.10. Nonaqueous environments
      11. 12.11. Composite unidirectional properties
      12. 12.12. Conclusions
    8. 13. The blast response of composite and fibre-metal laminate materials used in aerospace applications
      1. 13.1. Introduction
      2. 13.2. Characteristics of explosions in air
      3. 13.3. Paradigms of blast protection
      4. 13.4. Explosion loading of fuselage structures
      5. 13.5. The blast performance of plain composites
      6. 13.6. The blast performance of multilayered systems
      7. 13.7. Conclusions
    9. 14. Repair of damaged aerospace composite structures
      1. 14.1. Introduction
      2. 14.2. Assessment of repair and non-destructive tests
      3. 14.3. Repair
      4. 14.4. Typical repair procedure
      5. 14.5. Analysis of repair
      6. 14.6. Conclusion and future trends
    10. 15. Nondestructive testing of damage in aerospace composites
      1. 15.1. Introduction
      2. 15.2. Types of composite damage
      3. 15.3. Damage in sandwich composites and in adhesive joints
      4. 15.4. NDT, NDI, and NDE methods for polymer composite structures
      5. 15.5. Probability of detection
      6. 15.6. Visual and tap testing
      7. 15.7. Ultrasonic testing
      8. 15.8. Thermography
      9. 15.9. Shearography
      10. 15.10. Radiography
      11. 15.11. Electromagnetic methods
      12. 15.12. Bond inspection
      13. 15.13. Summary and conclusions
    11. 16. Structural health monitoring (SHM) of aerospace composites
      1. 16.1. Introduction
      2. 16.2. Conventional resistance strain gauges
      3. 16.3. Fiber optics sensors
      4. 16.4. Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors
      5. 16.5. Piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS)
      6. 16.6. Electrical properties sensors
      7. 16.7. SHM systems
      8. 16.8. Local-area active sensing with electromechanical impedance spectroscopy
      9. 16.9. Active sensing SHM: electrical methods
      10. 16.10. Direct methods for impact damage detection
      11. 16.11. Conclusions
  11. Index

Product information

  • Title: Polymer Composites in the Aerospace Industry
  • Author(s): P. E. Irving, Costas Soutis
  • Release date: September 2014
  • Publisher(s): Woodhead Publishing
  • ISBN: 9780857099181