Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

“Composite materials are commonly used in industry to manufacture strong and lightweight structures. Composites feature a large degree of flexibility in materials selection and manufacturing processes to tailor the strength of manufactured parts. This study examines different manufacturing aspects of composites. In Part I, the fabrication of composite parts using the compression forming process is examined. During compression forming, metal dies are used to apply large deformations to prepreg material to fabricate composite parts. The high stresses and deformations of this process can yield manufacturing defects. T650/5320-1 prepreg is subjected to material characterization to develop simulations of large deformation forming processes. Material properties pertinent to the deformation process are evaluated using ASTM testing standards. Part II explores transparent composites as a lightweight and tough material that can improve current armor technology. Epoxy resin is formulated to match the refractive index of the fiber reinforcement for the fabrication of transparent composites. Transparent composite panels composed of S-glass fabric and epoxy resin are manufactured using the vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process to evaluate tension, flexure, and impact resistance properties. Part III investigates renewable resources for polymer composite production. HF-8450 and S300 soybean polyol are studied to produce polymers for continuous fiber-reinforced composites. Formulations of thermoset polyurethane using soy-based polyol are developed for use in composites. Continuous glass fiber-reinforced composite samples are manufactured using the vacuum bagging process and the composite samples are characterized using flexure testing”--Abstract, page iv.

Advisor(s)

Chandrashekhara, K.

Committee Member(s)

Leu, M. C. (Ming-Chuan)
Samaranayake, V. A.
Schuman, Thomas P.
Yang, Xiaodong

Department(s)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Degree Name

Ph. D. in Aerospace Engineering

Comments

The authors would like to acknowledge the support from the Center for Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies (CAMT).

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Summer 2020

Journal article titles appearing in thesis/dissertation

  • Modeling and simulation of polymer composite prepreg forming process
  • Development of fiber reinforced transparent composites
  • Soy-based polyurethane composites

Pagination

xi, 52 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographic references.

Rights

© 2020 Robert Raymond Meinders, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Thesis Number

T 11983

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