• Composites Research
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.229-236
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• 2019

In this study, the effects of the additional processing parameters on the mechanical properties of thermoplastic composites fabricated with automated fiber placement (AFP) were evaluated. Annealing and vacuum bag only processes were then performed on the manufactured thermoplastic composites, respectively. For verification, the crystallinity was measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), confirming the variation of semi-crystalline thermoplastic composite according to the process conditions. The void content of thermoplastic composites was evaluated by matrix digestion method while microscopic examination confirmed the porosity distribution. The interlaminar shear strength test was conducted for three different process parameters (VBO, annealing, and no treatment). A comparison of the three tested strengths was made, revealing that the porosity value had larger effect on the mechanical properties of the thermoplastic composite compared to the degree of crystallinity. Additionally, when thermoplastic composite melted up, the pores were continuously removed under vacuum process; the removal of the pores resulted in an increase of the interlaminar shear strength.

• Composites Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.212-218
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• 2015

A large composite spar was manufactured using an automatic fiber placement (AFP) machine. To verify its structural performance, the weakest part of the structure, which is called 'corner radius', was tested under bending and examined by finite element analysis. Since the application of AFP machine to composite structure fabrication is still in early stage in Korea, this paper presents the summary of whole process for manufacturing composite spar using AFP machine from mandrel design and analysis to verification test. The deflection and stress by mandrel weight and AFP machine force, thermal deformation and natural frequency were all examined for mandrel design. The target structure was composite C-spar and cured in an autoclave. Test results were compared with nonlinear finite element analysis results to show that the structure has the strength close to the theoretical value. It was confirmed that the corner radius of the spar manufactured by AFP process showed deviation less than 20% compared with first ply failure strength. The results indicate that the AFP technology could be used for large scale composite structure production in the near future.