Steering of carbon fiber/PEEK tapes using Hot Gas Torch-assisted automated fiber placement

In-situ manufacturing of thermoplastic composites using Hot Gas Torch (HGT)-assisted Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) has the potential to produce laminates in an efficient manner by avoiding a secondary process, like autoclave consolidation. One of the advantages of AFP technique is its capability to steer fiber path and to manufacture Variable Angle Tow (VAT) laminates which have shown to have improved mechanical performance. This study investigates the process parameters that affect steering of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic tapes (AS4/polyether ether ketone) using an HGT-assisted AFP machine. The effect of the steering radius, laydown speed, number of repasses, and substrate angle on the geometry and bond strength of steered tape was investigated through observation and testing. A modified lap shear test was devised and used to study the bond strength between the steered tape and the substrate and the results were compared with autoclave treated samples which served as a reference. It was found that with a decrease in the steering radius of the tape, there was a decrease in the tape width and an increase in the tape thickness. A significant reduction in the steering-induced defects was observed at higher laydown speeds where the defects were intermittent unlike in the case of lower laydown speeds. Performing a repass over the steered tape smoothed some of the tape defects caused by steering. Furthermore, the lap shear strengths of the steered tapes were found to be functions of laydown speed and substrate angle.

Dissimilar Materials Welding with a Standoff-Free Vaporizing Foil Actuator between TRIP 1180 Steel Sheets and AA5052 Alloy

This paper mainly demonstrates an advanced type of the vaporizing foil actuator welding (VFAW) process between GPa-grade steel (TRIP1180) and aluminum alloy (AA5052-H32) without applying standoff. To secure a flying distance during the VFAW process, the preformed target sheet shaped like a circular indentation has been utilized. It is necessary to optimize process parameters integrated with geometrical design of the preform since the welding strength can be decreased beyond the optimum input energy in the standoff-free VFAW process. The welded surface was evaluated by SEM-EDS, XRD, EBDS, and TEM to analyze the welding mechanism and composition at the welding interface. The diffusion zone including the AlFe₃ phase was observed at the welded interface which has high grain density due to the high-speed impact by increasing the welding strength, which leads to the perfect welding between the dissimilar materials.

Nickel-Aluminum Thermal Spray Coatings as Adhesion Promoter and Susceptor for Inductively Joined Polymer-Metal Hybrids

Hybrid joints of metal- and fiber-reinforced-polymer offer great potential for lightweight applications. Thereby, a fast and reliable joining process is mandatory for mass-production applications. To this end, this study assesses inductive spot-joining in combination with prior thermal spray coating of the metal adherent. A nickel-aluminum 95/5 coating was applied to achieve high adhesion through mechanical interlocking and to act as susceptor for the inductive joining process. The joint strength was assessed with lap shear specimens consisting of EN AW-6082 aluminum alloy and glass fiber reinforced polyamide 6 or polypropylene, respectively. The joints were further investigated in terms of heating time and hygrothermal cyclic loading. The results showed that significant time savings for the joining process as well as strong adhesion were achieved due to the coating. Moreover, the high strengths were even preserved under hygrothermal cyclic loading.

Characterization of Adhesives Bonding in Aircraft Structures

Structural adhesives play an important role in aerospace manufacturing, since they provide fewer points of stress concentration compared to faster joints. The importance of adhesives in aerospace is increasing significantly because composites are being adopted to reduce weight and manufacturing costs. Furthermore, adhesive joints are also studied to determine the crashworthiness of airframe structure, where the main task for the adhesive is not to dissipate the impact energy, but to keep joint integrity so that the impact energy can be consumed by plastic work. Starting from an extensive campaign of experimental tests, a finite element model and a methodology are implemented to develop an accurate adhesive model in a single lap shear configuration. A single lap joint finite element model is built by MSC Apex, defining two specimens of composite material connected to each other by means of an adhesive; by the Digimat multi-scale modeling solution, the composite material is treated; and finally, by MSC’s Marc, the adhesive material is characterized as a cohesive applying the Cohesive Zone Modeling theory. The objective was to determine an appropriate methodology to predict interlaminar crack growth in composite laminates, defining the mixed mode traction separation law variability in function of the cohesive energy (G_c), the ratio between the shear strength τ and the tensile strength σ (β1), and the critical opening displacement υ_c.

A 3D in vitro model of the dermoepidermal junction amenable to mechanical testing

Recessive dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB) is caused by mutations in collagen‐type VII gene critical for the dermoepidermal junction (DEJ) formation. Neither tissues of animal models nor currently available in vitro models are amenable to the quantitative assessment of mechanical adhesion between dermal and epidermal layers. Here, we created a 3D in vitro DEJ model using extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins of the DEJ anchored to a poly(ethylene glycol)‐based slab (termed ECM composites) and seeded with human keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts. Keratinocytes and fibroblasts of healthy individuals were well maintained in the ECM composite and showed the expression of collagen type VII over a 2‐week period. The ECM composites with healthy keratinocytes and fibroblasts exhibited yield stress associated with the separation of the model DEJ at 0.268 ± 0.057 kPa. When we benchmarked this measure of adhesive strength with that of the model DEJ fabricated with cells of individuals with RDEB, the yield stress was significantly lower (0.153 ± 0.064 kPa) consistent with our current mechanistic understanding of RDEB. In summary, a 3D in vitro model DEJ was developed for quantification of mechanical adhesion between epidermal‐ and dermal‐mimicking layers, which can be utilized for assessment of mechanical adhesion of the model DEJ applicable for Epidermolysis Bullosa‐associated therapeutics. © 2018 The Authors. Journal Of Biomedical Materials Research Part A Published By Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 3231–3238, 2018.