Experiment-free multiscale simulation of residual deformation in non-crimp fabric composites

Abstract

The effectiveness of multiscale modeling, consisting of quantum chemical reaction path calculations, molecular dynamics simulations, and microscopic and macroscopic finite element analysis, developed for the process-induced residual deformation of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic was experimentally evaluated. In this study, non-crimp fabric composites with an arbitrary thermoset resin were fabricated, and process-induced deformation was measured. Process-induced residual deformations due to cure shrinkage and thermal shrinkage of cross-ply laminates under conditions similar to those in the experiment were predicted using multiscale modeling. The predicted deformation shape and maximum deformation value are in good agreement with the fabrication experiments. Multiscale modeling can consider the combined factors that affect the deformation (i.e. size, elastic moduli, coefficient of thermal expansion, and fiber volume fraction) and can provide important knowledge regarding the development of high-performance composite structures and for stable manufacturing.

Keywords:

• CFRP
• process-induced deformation
• multiscale modeling
• non-crimp fabric

Acknowledgements

Numerical simulations were performed on the “AFI-NITY” supercomputer system at the Advanced Fluid Information Research Center, Institute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Council for Science, Technology, and Innovation (CSTI) and the Cross-Ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP), “materials integration for revolutionary design system of structural materials” (Funding agency: JST). This research was also supported by JSPS KAKENHI [grant numbers 21K14415, 23H01291, and 23K19085].