Browsing by Subject "carbon fiber"

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    Design and Analysis of a Composite Monocoque for Structural Performance : a Comprehensive Approach
    (2019-08) Kamble, Meghana P.; Dalir, Hamid; Tovar, Andres; El-Mounayri, Hazim
    Lately numerous studies have been performed to design composite monocoques with high strength and low weight for various student level racing contests. The objective of this paper is to develop an insightful methodology to design and de veloped a light-weight composite monocoque. The monocoque is designed to pass the mandatory static load tests laid down by the International Automobile Feder ation (FIA)Formula 3. These Formula 3 tests are considered the baseline of the desired structural integrity of the composite monocoque. The presented design tech nique emphasises on a monocoque developed for Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) races. The three standard load tests performed on the monocoque are Survival Cell Side test, Fuel Tank test and Side Intrusion test. A sandwich layup of bi-directional woven carbon/epoxy prepreg and aluminium honeycomb is optimized for minimum weight while predicting the unknown properties of layup and ensuring the mono coque doesnt experience failure. The approach intends to achieve minimum weight with high torsional rigidity and is capable of being used for the design and analysis of any kind of formula type composite monocoque.
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    Numerical Modelling and Experimental Investigation of CFRP Structures for Large Deformations
    (2019-08) Deshpande, Archit M.; Dalir, Hamid; Agarwal, Mangilal; Tovar, Andres
    The use of carbon-fiber reinforced composite materials is not novel in the field of motorsports industry. Their use in collapsible structures for crashworthiness is however not fully understood and predicted. Due to the complex failure mechanisms occurring within the material, the energy absorbing capacity cannot be easily pre dicted. The need to understand their contributions in crashworthy structures is thus of great importance. Furthermore, failure of carbon-fiber composites is highly depen dent on the geometry of structure. Problems arise in both experimental and numerical modelling of these structures. Although many explicit FEA codes exist, they often include experimental parameters that need to be calibrated through either coupon tests or actual crash tests. As composite structures become more commonly used in automotive industry, it is necessary to set some guidelines to successfully model and simulate composite crashworthy structures. The numerical modelling was done in LS-DYNA Enhanced composite damage MAT54. The material properties were configured using experimental coupon tests. The tests were conducted on square composite tubes. The Specific Energy Absorption (SEA) of the tubes were calculated through several coupons. As SEA is a function of geometry, it was necessary to conduct tests with similar geometry as seen in nosecone. MAT54 was chosen to simulate both crush and crash simulations due to its capability to simulate element level crushing. Furthermore, various modifications within the material model, improve its accuracy to determine composite failure. The research utilizes the characterization of material inputs in MAT54 by con ducting quasi-static compression tests on simpler but similar geometry. By utilizing inputs, a zonal optimization was conducted on the nosecone geometry. The number of layers, layer orientations and ply thicknesses were varied to vary the energy absorbed per zone. The deceleration of the vehicle can thus be controlled, and the weight of the structure could be reduced.