Wrinkle-Preventing Interlayer for Fibre Reinforced Laminate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fibre reinforced laminates often develop wrinkles during manufacturing, leading to reduced stiffness and strength, which can exceed safety margins, and current methods to prevent wrinkles are restrictive in terms of laminate thickness, mould quality, and curing temperature gradients.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the placement of wrinkle-preventing layers with higher stiffness than the fibre reinforcement layers, either as pre-cured laminate or non-laminate materials like metal or wood, to confine wrinkles within specific areas of the laminate, allowing for reduced restrictions on laminate thickness and curing conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If laminate thickness is increased to achieve desired structural properties, then mechanical strength and stiffness are improved, but wrinkle formation increases leading to reduced reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The laminate is segmented into multiple sub-laminates with intermediate wrinkle-preventing layers placed between them. This segmentation allows each sub-laminate to be cured independently with controlled thickness, preventing wrinkles while achieving the desired overall mechanical properties through stacking multiple segments.
Solution Approach 2:
A wrinkle-preventing material acts as an intermediary layer between fibre reinforcement layers during curing. This intermediary material has higher stiffness than the uncured laminate and prevents wrinkle formation by maintaining fibre orientation, allowing thicker laminates to be manufactured without compromising quality.
2Reliability
If traditional wrinkle prevention methods are applied (controlling laminate thickness, mould quality, temperature gradients), then wrinkle formation is reduced, but manufacturing complexity and process restrictions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wrinkle prevention function is extracted from the complex curing process parameters (thickness control, temperature gradients, mould quality) and embodied in a separate wrinkle-preventing material layer. This material layer directly prevents wrinkles through its mechanical properties rather than relying on process control, simplifying the manufacturing approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The stiffness parameter of the laminate structure is changed by introducing a wrinkle-preventing material with higher stiffness than the uncured laminate. This parameter change enables wrinkle prevention without requiring stringent control of other process parameters like temperature gradients or laminate thickness.
3Reliability
If wrinkle-preventing material with higher stiffness is inserted between fibre layers, then wrinkle formation is prevented, but laminate complexity and material usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of preventing wrinkles throughout the entire laminate thickness, wrinkle-preventing layers are placed only at critical interfaces between sub-laminates. This partial action is sufficient to confine any potential wrinkles to limited spaces, achieving reliable wrinkle prevention without adding complexity throughout the entire structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The problem of wrinkle prevention is solved by adding a new dimensional element (wrinkle-preventing layers) to the laminate structure. These layers create discrete confinement zones that restrict wrinkle propagation in the thickness dimension, simplifying the overall control of fibre orientation.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for manufacturing of a fiber reinforced laminate is provided. A part of the laminate is build up to a determined thickness. A layer of wrinkle-preventing material is placed on top of the partially completed laminate. The layer of wrinkle-preventing material has a greater stiffness than the stiffness of a layer of similar thickness of the uncured laminate. Further on a new part of the laminate is build up to a determined thickness. In case the thickness of the laminate built up is not as large as a desired thickness of the completed laminate, the placing of the layer and the building of a new part of laminate is repeated until the thickness of the laminate built up is equal to the desired thickness of the completed laminate.