Title: COMPARING CRACK TOLERANCE OF DIFFERENT THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE ARCHITECTURE IN A FIRST ARTICLE TRAILING-EDGE RIB DEMONSTRATOR: UD, FABRIC, AND BRAID, PART I

Authors: Alfonso D. Lopez, Joe Spangler, Gregory M. Lambert, Supun Kariyawasam, Waruna P. Seneviratne, Richard J.R. Postera, David C. Leach, Brennan Carroll, Billy Wood

DOI: 10.33599/nasampe/s.23.0195

Abstract: Due to their history in aerospace primary structures, design engineers are familiar with how and when to utilize various thermoset prepreg form factors (e.g., unidirectional tapes, fabrics or braids). However, thermoplastic composites are receiving renewed attention as materials for primary structures in aircraft for reasons ranging from shorter process times to part performance demands. Companies like GKN Fokker, Collins, Qarbon, and Spirit are pioneering new consolidation and welding methods for thermoplastic composites to take advantage of this. As the industry begins to incorporate thermoplastics, it is important to start examining the differences between thermoplastic material architectures, rather than between thermoplastic and thermoset classes. In this paper, we present a first article comparison between trailing edge rib demonstrator parts made from three different pre-impregnated composite forms: unidirectional tape, fabric, and braid. The same PEEK (Evonik’s Vestakeep® 2000) and carbon fiber (Teijin’s TenaxTM HTS40 and HTA40) were used for each architecture. The damage tolerance after severe static loading is quantified by comparing stiffness changes, slow-motion video, and crack sound recording during compression testing of the parts. The comparison elucidates the differences in performance and failure behavior as a result of the composite architecture and part quality. Braid displayed good overall damage tolerance and performance while TPUD and fabric bookend stiffness or load capacity retention, respectively.

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Conference: SAMPE 2023

Publication Date: 2023/04/17

SKU: TP23-0000000195

Pages: 20

Price: $40.00