Textiles and Multi-axial Reinforcements by Dr Alistair McIlhagger.

1. ulster.ac.uk
Textiles and Multi-axial
Reinforcements
Dr Alistair McIlhagger

2. Contents
• Technical Textiles
• Textiles/Composites in NI
• ECRE
• Principle Areas
• Ulster Research
• Historical Importance in NI
• The Technology of Weaving
• Benefits of 3D
• Challenges
• NIACE
• Competence Centre Projects
• Sensing

3. Technical Textiles
• Coined in the 1980s to describe the growing variety of products and manufacturing
techniques being developed primarily for their technical properties and performance
rather than their appearance or other aesthetic characteristics - superseded an earlier
term 'industrial textiles' which had become too restrictive in its meaning to describe
the full complexity and richness of this fast growing area.
Source -https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/technical-textiles

4. Textiles/Composites in NI
• Mackies, Courtaulds, Langford
etc

5. World Class Examples

6. Engineering Composites Research Centre
Background Information
• Faculty of Engineering – ERI – ECRE and AmFor –
Firesert, Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Art and
Design Research Institute etc
• ECRE approx 35 years textiles/composites
• Bombardier Transformation Programme
• Course provision and development
• Royal Academy Bombardier Professorial Chair

7. Principle Areas
Principal areas
• Advanced design, manufacture and analysis of preform
composite structures
• Advanced machine development for preform manufacture
• Development of “bespoke” advanced materials solutions
• Skills development and training
• Grant applications and funding – national/international
• Access to unique manufacturing and testing facilities
• Project management and financial development
• Certification and standards implementation
• Application of novel fibre and resin systems
• Development of cost/life cycle modelling including
recycling/reuse issues

8. Ulster Research

9. Ulster Research

10. Ulster Research Microvascular

11. Ulster Research Microvascular
(contd)

12. Waste Materials

13. Historical Importance in NI
Most Famous Image in the
Early History of Computing
Portrait woven in silk on a Jacquard loom and
required 24,000 punched cards to create
(1839).
Charles Babbage - inspired him in using
perforated cards in his analytical engine.

14. Historical
Early aircraft used woven cloth
covering. It was sewn over
a covering of wooden and/or
steel tube frames and formers
Early commercial aircraft had
woven cloth covering the wings
and aft body. The cloth was
stiffened and filled (to prevent
air leakage) with cellulose dope

15. Market Information
The growth of composites (as a high strength to weight ratio material) is follows:
Update 2014 report
• Total Predicted Market Size for Carbon Fibre all Industries $13.6bn (2010)
• Aerospace Predicted market size (40%) $5.5 bn (2010)
• The Aerospace market is predicted to increase to 90% by 2025
• The market for 3D Woven Carbon Fibre Preforms is in very early stages
• The potential market for 3 D woven Carbon fibre composites is estimated to be in
excess of £100 million pa. Globally across the aviation industry
(aerospace structural and engine components)
• The major carbon fibre manufacturers have increased their raw materials
production to 21,000 tonnes pa with a forecast value for 2010 of $13.6 bn
• The growth in carbon fibre across all sectors is predicted to exceed 110000 tonnes
pa by 2018 with aviation exceeding 16,000 metric tonnes with an
estimated value of $1.27bn

16. The Technology
 3D weaving places selected fibres in
the z or out-of-plane direction.
 This z direction has been, and still
is the Achilles' heel for composites.

17. Basic Weaving

18. Comparison
Table: Common methods of preform production (Bannister,
2004)

19. Advantages of 3D Wovens
Textiles in composites revealed two sets of
benefits:
• Delamination resistance
- Primarily derived from through thickness
orientation of yarns
• Potential for reduced cost
- Pre-assembled layers of fibers reduce touch labor
- Part consolidation can be realized with near-net-
shape manufacturing

20. Common 3D Weaves
Layer-to-layer Through thickness
Review of Literature Difficult?
- Comparing “like with like”

21. Weaving at Ulster
leg prosthesis

22. The Beginning

23. To the Present

24. The Opportunity

25. The Benefits
The impact energy needed to initiate damage
in 3D woven carbon composites is up to 60%
higher than in a 2D carbon laminate.
3D woven materials are insensitive or at least
have very low notch sensitivity.
Impact performance observed using CT
Open hole tension tests with strain field map for a) 6% layer to
layer and
b) 6% orthogonal structures

26. The Benefits
Better fatigue properties than the
corresponding 2D composite (15% better at
105 cycle at applied stress level of 75%
ultimate strength).
Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness up to
20 times higher than the unidirectional carbon
fibre reinforced epoxy laminates.
Representation of a DCB test
Image of a layer to layer DCB specimen under load
The fracture surface of a layer-to-layer specimen. Sites where 3D
reinforcement was broken are circled

27. The Component Level

28. Fabric Designs and Concepts

29. Some Difficulties

30. Developments

31. Other Developments

32. Use of Advanced Preforms

33. Weaving

34. Challenges
Crimp in textiles
– Crimp levels influence fiber volume fraction, thickness of fabric, and mechanical performance
of fabric.
– High crimp leads to
– Reduced tensile and compressive properties
– Increased shear modulus in the dry fabric and the resulting composite
– Fewer regions for localized delamination between individual yarns.
Development of New Machinery/Processes
– Very complex shaped objects can be produced with textile processes
– New processes or machinery are required.
– Particular emphasis is on placement of bias yarns in woven fabrics
Variation in Weave Design
– Formation of a tapered fabric
– Weaves have gradients in a single or double axis by changing yarn size in the width or length
– Complex shapes can be achieved through “floating” and cutting yarns to reduce total number
of yarns in some section of the part

35. More Challenges

36. Advanced Weaving

37. Physical Limitations within
Literature
• Current cost of production.
– modifications to machines are needed for shaping capabilities,
– capital cost is applied to a few prototypes, the unit cost is tremendous
(no economy of scale)
• Processing difficulties.
– infiltration at high pressure, and thermal effects during curing.
• frequently results in internal yarn geometry distortions.
• elastic and strength properties have high variation.
– thermal effects can result in local disbonds from yarns

38. Failure Analysis within Literature

39. NIACE
• NIACE
• NISP
• Funding Bodies
• Academic Institutions
• FE Colleges – SERC, BMC
• International appeal

40. Benefits to/from NIACE
•Provides route for reduced development time – roadmap for continuous
development from “blue” sky to full product/commercialisation
•Skills of both universities and companies provides a unique and differentiated
approach to advanced materials usage from concept through to
implementation and full modelling/life analysis
•Shared responsibility for undertaking projects – financial and risk orientated –
ideas/expertise provided by others should also enable new perspectives and
solutions for company
•Potential increased access to funding (and success in applications) –
opportunities to engage in projects with academia and other companies

41. Benefits to/from NIACE (contd)
•Partnerships with QUB/UU, other companies depending on specific
projects and the interaction of the centre will have on
national/international stage
•Access to cross-border funding and collaboratively with IComp and
its members – Fusion/KTP
•Access to equipment for manufacture and testing.
•“Try out” without purchase of expensive equipment
•Placement of employees within centre – rather than just product
delivery
•Access to different aspects of engineering – manufacturers,
designers etc

42. Benefits to/from NIACE (contd)
•Place/fund employees students within other organisation/university
concentrating on specific skills
•Physical nature of co-location extremely powerful “vehicle” for
sharing of ideas and skills – provision of seminars to “educate”
•Universities will still be involved in their research and progression
through TRL levels
•A place to bring others !!!!

43. Competence Centre Projects
• Reusable Bagging
• High load joints
• Repair
• Recycling
• etc

44. Sensing
• Light weight, high-speed, and self-powered wireless fibre optic sensor
(WiFOS) structural health monitor system for avionics and aerospace
environments
• “Tailored” sensing configurations
• Key elements
• System - Collection/Data/”properties”
• Powering
• Cost
• Wireless

45. Challenges

46. Weaving Technical Challenges