Design, Processing, and Failure Analysis of Open-Architecture Composite Structures

Abstract

The Open-Architecture Composite Structures (O-ACS) are composed of tow-pregs and cord-pregs. This research conducts a full spectrum analysis from tow-preg to cord-preg and O-ACS. The final goal is to propose an integrated design tool which consists of two parts: cord-preg module and O-ACS module. The cord-preg module uses information from tow-pregs and architecture of jacket as input to output the desired geometry, stiffness and strength of cord-preg. The O-ACS module takes output data from the cord-preg module as input to similarly generate the geometry, stiffness and strength of O-ACS. Mechanical properties at cord-preg level are calculated using micromechanical models, whereas the failure analysis of O-ACS is performed using finite element method. Moreover, composite beam design with optimal bending stiffness is studied using this design tool.