Composite Material Fracture Inducing Layer Design
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The inspection of composite components is time-consuming due to the potential for fractures along any portion, and excess material is often used to prevent failure, leading to increased weight and complexity in design.
Innovation Solution
A composite component design featuring multiple layers with a fracture inducing layer that intentionally weakens specific regions to fail at a lower force than the rest of the component, allowing for targeted inspection and controlled failure, thereby reducing inspection time and weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If inspection of the entire composite component is performed to detect fractures, then fracture detection reliability is improved, but inspection time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The composite component is divided into multiple inspection regions, with at least one region being a predetermined fracture-prone region. Inspection efforts are segmented to focus on these specific high-risk areas rather than uniformly inspecting the entire component, thereby maintaining detection reliability while reducing overall inspection time.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the composite component are assigned different inspection priorities based on their fracture susceptibility. The predetermined fracture-prone regions receive focused inspection attention, while other regions receive reduced or no inspection, creating a non-uniform inspection strategy that optimizes time efficiency without compromising safety.
2Strength
If excess material is used to withstand failure in certain regions, then component strength is improved, but component weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The composite component incorporates regions with varying material properties and thicknesses. Specifically, certain regions are designed with reduced material content or weakened structural characteristics to create predetermined fracture-prone zones. This localized variation in material quality allows the component to maintain overall strength while reducing total weight by eliminating excess material from non-critical areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention intentionally creates controlled weakness zones within the composite component that are designed to fracture under specific conditions. By deliberately introducing these controlled failure points, the component can prevent catastrophic failure in critical areas, thereby converting the potential harm of material weakness into a beneficial safety feature that reduces overall material requirements and weight.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4
Figure 5~8
AI summary
A composite component includes a plurality of layers (62, 64). A fracture region (86) includes at least one fracture inducing layer (76) in an overlapping relationship with at least one of the plurality of layers (78).