Simulation Supported Development of Lightweight Panels with High Delamination Resistance

Abstract

A new type of panels is developed that is based on spacer woven fabrics. A stable composite tape made of glass fiber rovings and a thermoplastic matrix is used as input material. These composite tapes are first formed with a pair of gears at elevated temperature to give them a three dimensional shape for weft insertion. The geometries of the gears depend on the configuration of the final panels. Secondly, the composite tapes prepared in this way are further processed on the weaving machine and spacer fabrics are fabricated. Finally, the spacer fabric is consolidated with a thermoset or thermoplastic matrix to form the final panel. A meso-scale finite element model based on shell elements is developed and used for the simulation of the panel manufacturing process and the structural behavior of the panels.