Fiber Composite Hull Wall with Pre-Enveloped Foam Cores
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fiber composite sandwich constructions for boat hulls face challenges in achieving high mechanical load capacity while minimizing manufacturing expenditure, particularly at the connections between fiber material stays and cover layers, where weak points occur due to matrix material-only bonding.
Innovation Solution
The method involves enveloping shaped bodies of extruded polystyrene hard foam with bidirectionally oriented fiber composite material, placing them next to each other in a vacuum injection structure, and sealing with cover layers, ensuring complete impregnation and curing of the matrix material to enhance strength and stiffness, particularly at the connections between the cover layers and stays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If fiber material stays are connected to cover layers only by matrix material in the immediate abutting region, then the manufacturing process is simple, but weak points occur and mechanical load capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies fiber material to the shaped bodies before placing them in the mold, creating pre-reinforced connection regions. This preliminary action ensures that the fiber material is positioned optimally in the stay regions before matrix material is introduced, thereby strengthening the connection areas without complicating the overall manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention implements local reinforcement by applying fiber material specifically to the shaped bodies in regions where stays will form connections with cover layers. This creates locally enhanced mechanical properties at the connection points while maintaining the simplicity of the overall manufacturing process elsewhere.
2Strength
If fiber composite material is used for cover layers to provide strength and stiffness, then mechanical load capacity is improved, but manufacturing expenditure increases due to complex impregnation processes
Solution Approach 1:
The invention combines the reinforcement function with the core structure by applying fiber material directly to the shaped bodies that form the cores. This merging of reinforcement and core functions eliminates the need for separate complex impregnation processes for stays, thereby reducing manufacturing expenditure while maintaining high mechanical load capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The shaped bodies serve dual purposes: they form the core structure and simultaneously provide the framework for stay reinforcement. The fiber material applied to the shaped bodies automatically positions itself to reinforce the stay regions, allowing the structure to reinforce itself without additional complex processing steps.
3Weight of moving object
If extruded polystyrene hard foam shaped bodies are used as cores, then weight is reduced and damage tolerance is improved, but precise fiber orientation at connection regions becomes more difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The fiber material is applied to the shaped bodies before they are placed in the mold and before the matrix material is introduced. This preliminary application ensures precise fiber orientation at the connection regions is achieved while working with the lightweight extruded polystyrene hard foam cores, as the fiber positioning is established before final assembly.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly increases the mechanical load capacity of the fiber composite sandwich components by ensuring precise fiber orientation and distribution, reducing manufacturing time, and utilizing extruded polystyrene's closed-cell structure for reduced weight and improved damage tolerance, while maintaining a high-quality, bubble-free impregnation process.
Implementation Method 1
The air which is contained in the vacuum injection structure can be evacuated, for example, by an areal membrane or a membrane placed about a vacuum hose, which membrane is gas-permeable but matrix material-tight. By means of a vacuum seal strip, the film is sealed relative to the mold and the component is subsequently evacuated by means of a vacuum pump.
Implementation Method 2
The air pressure presses the inserted parts together and fixes them in position. The temperate liquid resin is sucked by the applied vacuum into the fiber material.
Implementation Method 3
The temperate liquid resin is sucked by the applied vacuum into the fiber material. In order to prevent that excess resin after passing the fibers reaches the vacuum pump, a resin brake and/or resin trap is mounted upstream of the pump.
Implementation Method 4
The fibers impart to the fiber composite material the required strength. In addition to the tensile strength, the fibers also create, within limits, a bending strength relative to a pressure load.
Implementation Method 5
The fibers impart to the fiber composite material the required strength. In addition to the tensile strength, the fibers also create, within limits, a bending strength relative to a pressure load.
Implementation Method 6
The fibers are held and protected in their position by a matrix material. The matrix material transmits and distributes also tensions between the fibers.
Data Source
AI summary
In a method for producing a hull wall of a fiber composite sandwich component, shaped bodies of extruded polystyrene hard foam are enveloped with an envelope of fiber composite material with fibers oriented at least bidirectionally. The enveloped shaped bodies have a shape for forming a hull wall and are placed next to each other in a vacuum injection structure on a lower cover layer of fiber composite material. An upper cover layer of fiber composite material is placed on top of the enveloped shaped bodies and the vacuum injection structure is sealed. Matrix material is introduced and distributed in the vacuum injection structure until the fiber composite material of the envelopes and of the upper and lower cover layers is impregnated completely with the matrix material. The matrix material is cured and the fiber composite sandwich component of the hull wall is removed from the vacuum injection structure.