COMPOSITES EUROPE 2012 Blog

Functional and safety components of thermoplastic composites are being used more and more. It is therefore very important to have an understanding of the material behaviour and to develop adapted design methods.

Realistic material data from experimental tests, which take all important influential parameters into account, are needed in order to design components with the necessary fatigue strength. This means that attention has to focus on the selection of the test specimens, the correct introduction of the mechanical stress in the specimen and the simulation of environment loads. The latter have a great influence on the stress that a thermoplastic polymer can bear.
Often the determination of realistic material data requests convenient test facilities and also experiences for the performance of fatigue tests with thermoplastic polymers. The Fraunhofer Institute of Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF has experiences in the field of structural durability for many years. One of the latest developments provides the possibility to test polymer specimens in liquid media bath, which can be warmed up. Beside harmless media like water or soapsuds also aggressive media like brake fluid and fuel can be used. The convenience of these test performances is to determine realistic material data for the numerical dimensioning of components, which includes beside the effects of the single influencing parameters e.g. temperature, notches or liquid on the mechanical properties continuative the independencies between these single parameters.

Hereby in the design process uncertainties, which lead to under- or overdimensioning, can be reduced. This kind of design opens a wide range of applications like vehicle or engine construction for the thermoplastic composites.

About the Fraunhofer LBF

With its comprehensive expertise in the fields of structural durability, adaptronics and system reliability, the Fraunhofer LBF develops, evaluates and implements customised solutions for all safety components – ranging from the materials to whole systems and from the first idea to the product. It works in conjunction with the associated System Reliability and Machine Acoustics department (SzM) of the Technical University Darmstadt and benefits from the experience of a team of around 300 staff. Cooperation projects with renowned partners exemplify its particular closeness to the industry. Automotive and commercial vehicle engineering, rail transportation technology, shipbuilding, machine and plant engineering, aviation, energy technology and other sectors utilise the proven expertise and cutting edge technology provided in the laboratory and testing areas that extend across more than 17,000 m2.

More information on: www.lbf.fraunhofer.de

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