Date of Award
9-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
First Advisor
Marina B. Ruggles-Wrenn, PhD
Abstract
The tension-tension fatigue behavior of a novel additively manufactured AM carbon fiber reinforced polymer matrix composite was studied. This novel material system consists of T1100 carbon fibers, and a UV photocured resin developed by Continuous Composites and Sartomer. Tensile properties and tension-tension fatigue were investigated for the 090 fiber orientation as well as for the ±45 fiber orientation. Specimens with 0/90 fiber orientation were tested at ambient laboratory temperature 23 °C and at elevated temperature 150 °C, while the specimens with the ±45 fiber orientation were tested only at ambient laboratory temperature. Tension-tension fatigue testing was carried out with a frequency of 1 Hz, and a ratio of minimum to maximum stress of R0.1. Fatigue runout was defined as 200,000 cycles. Results obtained for the AM composite in this study were compared to the results obtained in previous studies for traditionally manufactured TM aerospace-grade carbon fiber-resin composite systems. The tension-tension fatigue performance of the additively manufactured material system with 0/90 fiber orientation was somewhat worse than that of the traditionally manufactured aerospace-grade composites with 0/90 fiber orientation at room temperature. The additively manufactured material system ±45 fiber orientation exhibited better tension-tension fatigue performance than the ±45 aerospace-grade composite. The AM composite exhibited considerable degree of specimen-to-specimen variability, and consequently considerable data scatter. Before and after testing the AM composite specimens were imaged using X-Ray Computed Tomography in order to gain insight into how the unique microstructure produced by this novel fabrication method impacts mechanical behavior. The additive manufacturing process shows considerable promise for rapid and cost-effective fabrication of composite parts.
AFIT Designator
AFIT-ENY-MS-22-S-119
DTIC Accession Number
AD1181537
Recommended Citation
Harber, Grayson M., "Mechanical Properties and Tension-Tension Fatigue Behavior of a Novel Additively Manufactured Polymer Matrix Composite at Room and Elevated Temperature" (2022). Theses and Dissertations. 5532.
https://scholar.afit.edu/etd/5532