Citation:
A. Long, A.A. Skordos, P. Harrison, M. Clifford, M. Sutcliffe; Optimisation of Sheet Forming for Textile Composites using variable Peripheral Pressure. 27th International Conference SAMPE EUROPE March 27-29, 2006, Paris, France.
Abstract:
This paper addresses optimisation of the sheet forming process for textile
composites. A woven carbon/epoxy prepreg helicopter pilot helmet is used to
demonstrate both experimental and numerical studies. A novel stamp-forming
experimental procedure is developed, where a segmented blank-holder is used to
control draw-in, facilitating process control and optimisation. A truss based
finite element model, incorporating non-linear fabric shear properties and the
occurrence of wrinkling due to tow buckling, is used to simulate forming. The
simple basis of the model results in low computational times that allow its use
within an optimization procedure. A genetic algorithm is used to solve the
optimisation problem, minimizing the wrinkling in the formed component by
selecting a suitable peripheral holding force distribution. Optimised designs
resulting from the inversion procedure have significantly lower wrinkling than
uniform peripheral force profiles.