Objective:
The aim of the project is to develop an advanced thermo-mechanical model, through rigor-ous consideration of the physics describing the thermo-mechanical printing process and material anisotropy to predict the final geometry and residual stress state of a to-be-manufactured thermoplastic fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) structure. The model will be validated with experimental results and will be used to optimize the critical printing parame-ters for manufacturing the final continuous FRC structure at one step. The success criterion is to demonstrate that the simulation tool is capable of accurately predicting the final geome-try and residual stress of a printed continuous FRC structure.
Expected outcome:
This project facilitates the digital direct manufacturing with complex and irregular geometries, hence paving the way for the automated cost-efficient fabrication of high-performance and sustainable continuous FRCs. The developed simulation tool can be applied to all thermoplastic FRCs including natural fiber FRCs as long as the input material properties are provided or measured, thus forming a basis for further development of fully bio-degradable green FRCs. The outcome of this project is versatile and applicable to all industries in Denmark dealing with lightweight and high-performance composite structures, having the potential of greatly reducing the environmental impact of current FRC thermoset-based products which normally end up in landfills.
The project started August 1. 2021 and runs for three years.
Total project budget: 2.741 mio. DKK.