Master of Science / Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering / Kevin Lease / Carbon fiber reinforced composites (CFRP’s) are a mainstay in many industries, including the aerospace industry. When composite components are damaged on an aircraft, they are typically repaired with a composite patch that is placed over the damaged material and cured into the existing composite material. This curing process involves knowledge of the curing time necessary to sufficiently cure the patch. The inexact nature of curing composites on aircraft causes a significant waste of time and material when patches are unnecessarily redone. Knowing how differences in cure cycle affect the strength of the final material could reduce this waste. That is the focus of this research. In this research, the interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of carbon fiber/epoxy composites was investigated to determine how changes in cure cycle affect the overall material strength. IFSS is a measure of the strength of the bond between the two materials. To measure this, the microbond method was used. In this method, a drop of epoxy is applied to a single carbon fiber. The specimen is cured and the droplet is sheared from the fiber. The force required to debond the droplet is recorded and the data is analyzed. The IFSS of AS4/Epon828, T650/Epon828, and T650/Cycom 5320-1 composites were evaluated. For the former two material systems, a cure cycle with two steps was chosen based on research from others and then was systematically varied. The final cure time was changed to determine how that parameter affected the IFSS. It was found that as the final cure time increased, so did the IFSS and level of cure achieved by the composite to a point. Once the composite reached its fully cured state, increasing the final cure time did not noticeably increase the IFSS. For the latter material system (T650/Cycom 5320-1), the two cure cycles recommended by the manufacturer were tested. These had different initial cure steps and identical final cure steps. Although both cure cycles caused high IFSS, the cycle with the higher initial temperature, but shorter initial cure time achieved a higher level of cure than that with a longer time, but shorter temperature.

Strengthening of existing structures with Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) is a method that has been more common in the building sector during the last decades. The materials strength in relation to its weight is a huge advantage but the lack of knowledge in the building sector results that professionals uses more proven materials such as steel to strength structures. In this report five minor projects in which steel was the strengthening material has been analysed to see if CFRP could be a competitive strengthening material considering mainly practical and economical aspects. The main purpose of this report was to evaluate when CFRP is the most suitable option for strengthening of concrete structures. The results showed that CFRP was applicable in every project but the total cost were higher comparing to the steel solution in four out of five projects. The results indicate that it is difficult to motivate CFRP regarding the economical aspect in relation to minor project that were evaluated in this report. Nevertheless, the tendency is that the advantages with CFRP is more useful when there are more comprehensive projects such as advanced steel works and when it is necessary to save room volumes.

Understanding the lignin effect and related structural parameters relevant to the recalcitrance of the plant cell wall and the individual and cooperative effects on enzymatic saccharification are vital for improving current processing and conversion methods for cellulosic biofuels. Data were collected from several pretreatment technologies (Hot-water, organo-solv, lime, lime-oxidant, dilute acid, and dilute acid-oxidant pretreatments) on cellulose ultrastructure, partial delignification followed by dilute acid pretreatment, dilute acid pretreatment of enzymatic isolated lignin, and melt rheology test of organo-solv lignin. Results showed minimal cellulose ultrastructural changes occurred due to lime and lime-oxidant pretreatments, which however especially at short residence time displayed relatively high enzymatic glucose yield. Dilute acid and dilute acid-oxidant pretreatments resulted in the largest increase in cellulose crystallinity, para-crystalline, and cellulose-Iβ allomorph content as well as the largest increase in cellulose microfibril or crystallite size. Organo-solv pretreatment generated the highest glucose yield, which was accompanied by the most significant increase in cellulose microfibril or crystallite size and decrease in relatively lignin contents. Lignin acted as a barrier which restricted cellulose crystallinity increase and cellulose crystallite growth during dilute acid pretreatment, and that partial delignification instead of complete lignin removal during DAP would benefit the increase of sugar yield. Furthermore, a deeper understanding of the structural change of lignin in the absence of cellulose-hemicellulose matrix during dilute acid pretreatment confirmed that delignification had the most beneficial effect in poplar, but for switchgrass was the xylan removal. In addition, investigation on the structural change of organo-solv lignin during melt rheology test indicated that high purity lignin isolated from plant biomass with the lowest S/G (syringyl/guaiacyl) ratios will exhibit superior processing performance characteristics to produce high-quality carbon fibers. These findings can aid both in the development of improved enzymes that contain activities to decompose recalcitrant structures and in the design of various processing conditions that efficiently convert specific biomass feedstock into sugars. They can also help in the design of new chemical modifications on lignin and innovative biosynthesis strategies for producing linear-fiber-forming lignin with high-performance.

Different strategies can be used to repair, rehabilitate and strengthen existing structures. Techniques based on Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) materials appear to be innovative alternatives to traditional solutions because of their high tensile strength, light, weight, and ease of installation. One of the most common and useful FRPs is Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) used in sheets and anchors attached on the concrete surface to strengthen the section through addition of tensile capacity. The purpose of this study was develop a technique for assesses the strength of anchors for quality control purpose. However, to transfer tensile capacity to a concrete surface, the sheets are bonded to the surface with epoxy adhesive. As tension increase, CFRP sheets lose adherence of the epoxy from the concrete surface and finally debond. To avoid this failure, CFRP anchors are applied in addition at the epoxy. The CFRP anchors allow the CFRP sheets to utilize their full tensile capacity and maximize the material efficiency of the CFRP retrofit. The number and size of anchors play a critical role. However the capacity of CFRP anchors has not been investigated extendedly. A methodology for assessing the quality of CFRP anchors was developed using plain concrete beams and reinforced externally with CFRP sheets attached with epoxy and CFRP anchors. Applying load to the beam, allowed the development a tensile force in the CFRP sheets and a shear force on the CFRP anchors. The shear forces in the CFRP anchors were defined by the load applied to the beam and compared with forces based on measured stress in CFRP sheets. / text

This dissertation presents the theoretical and experimental exploration of active reflective components specifically for large-aperture adaptive optical zoom systems. An active reflective component can change its focal length by physically deforming its reflecting surface. Adaptive optical zoom (AOZ) utilizes active components in order to change magnification and achieve optical zoom, as opposed to traditional zooming systems that move elements along the optical axis. AOZ systems are theoretically examined using a novel optical design theory that enables a full-scale tradespace analysis, where optical design begins from a broad perspective and optimizes to a particular system. The theory applies existing strategies for telescope design and aberration simulation to AOZ, culminating in the design of a Cassegrain objective with a 3.3X zoom ratio and a 375mm entrance aperture. AOZ systems are experimentally examined with the development of a large-aperture active mirror constructed of a composite material called carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP). The active CFRP mirror uses a novel actuation method to change radius of curvature, where actuators press against two annular rings placed on the mirror's back. This method enables the radius of curvature to increase from 2000mm to 2010mm. Closed-loop control maintains good optical performance of 1.05 waves peak-to-valley (with respect to a HeNe laser) when the active CFRP mirror is used in conjunction with a commercial deformable mirror.

Composites have been developed with great success by the use of fiber reinforcements in metallic materials. Fiber reinforced metal matrices possess great potential to be the next generation of advanced composites offering many advantages compared to fiber reinforced polymers. Specific advantages include high temperature capability, superior environmental stability, better transverse modulus, shear and fatigue properties. Although many Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) are attractive for use in different industrial applications, Aluminium Matrix Composites (AMCs) are the most used in advanced applications because they combine acceptable strength, low density, durability, machinability, availability, effectiveness and cost. The present study focuses on the fabrication of aluminium matrix composite plates by squeeze casting using plain weave carbon fiber preform (AS4 Hexcel) as reinforcement and a matrix of wrought aluminium alloy 1235-H19. The objective is to investigate the process feasibility and resulting materials properties such as hardness at macro- and micro-scale, impact and bend strength. The properties obtained are compared with those of 6061/1235-H19 aluminium plates that were manufactured under the same fabrication conditions. The effect of fiber volume fraction on the properties is also investigated. Furthermore, the characterization of the microstructure is done using Optical Microscopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) in order to establish relationships between the quality of the fiber/aluminium interface bond and mechanical properties of the composites. In conclusion, aluminium matrix composite laminate plates were successfully produced. The composites show a good chemical bond between the fiber and the aluminium matrix. This bond resulted from heterogeneous precipitation of aluminium carbides (Al4C3) at the interface between aluminium matrix and carbon fiber. The hardness at macro- and micro-scale of the composites increases by over 50% and the flexural modulus increases by about 55%. The toughness of the composite decreases due to the presence of brittle phases which can be improved by better oxidation prevention. Also, an optimal carbon volume fraction was observed that provides optimal properties including peak hardness, peak stiffness and peak toughness.

Les besoins techniques et opérationnels des porteurs navals, terrestres et aériens conduisent à la conception et à l'implantation d'un nombre de plus en plus élevé d'antennes dédiées aux communications. Parallèlement, les matériaux composites sont utilisés depuis de nombreuses décennies dans les panneaux structuraux de ces porteurs en raison de leurs qualités naturelles (légèreté, performances mécaniques élevées, insensibilité à la corrosion…). L'objet de ce manuscrit concerne l'étude et le développement de matériaux composites pour des applications antennaires en hyperfréquences. Après un recensement exhaustif des caractéristiques diélectriques des différents éléments constitutifs de ces matériaux composites, la caractérisation diélectrique des matériaux composites fabriqués au Laboratoire a été réalisée via deux méthodes distinctes dans deux bandes de fréquence différentes. Parallèlement, la caractérisation électrique des tissus à base de fibres de carbone a permis d'évaluer leur possible utilisation dans la fabrication des éléments rayonnants. Dans un premier temps, deux topologies antennaires « tout composite » de géométrie carrée à base de tissus de fibres de carbone, de fibres de verre et de résine (polyester ou époxy) ont été conçues, fabriquées et caractérisées. Leurs performances similaires à celles d'antennes métalliques de référence démontrent tout l'intérêt de l'utilisation des matériaux composites en hyperfréquences. Puis, trois topologies antennaires ultra large bande en matériaux « tout composite » ont été développées spécifiquement dans le cadre du projet FUI SAMCOM (/Systèmes Antennaires en Matériaux COMposites/). La première de type Rugby-Ball couvre une octave et demi avec un gain positif et un encombrement limité à λ/4 x λ/4 x λ/10 (longueur x largeur x hauteur). La seconde configuration volumique de type dipôle et d'encombrement λ/3 x λ/3 x λ/10 couvre deux octaves et demi avec un gain toujours positif. Enfin, la troisième de structure planaire a été développée spécifiquement pour la réception de la Télévision Numérique Terrestre (TNT) et sera, à terme, intégrée dans un panneau structural d'un véhicule. / The technical and operational requirements of naval, terrestrial and aerial vehicles lead to the design and installation of a great number of antennas for communications. At the same time, composite materials have been used for many decades in structural panels of vehicles for their intrinsic qualities (lightness, high mechanical performance, insensitivity to corrosion ...). The purpose of this manuscript is the study and engineering of composite materials for antenna applications at microwaves. After an exhaustive survey of the dielectric characteristics of the various elements of composite materials, dielectric characterization of composite materials manufactured in the Laboratory was carried out using two different methods in two different frequency bands. Meanwhile, an analysis of their conductive characteristics allows carbon-fiber tissues to be used in the design of radiating elements. First, two "full-composite" square shaped antennas based on carbon-fiber tissues, glass-fiber tissues and polyester or epoxy resin have been developed, fabricated and measured. Their performance, similar to that of reference metal antennas demonstrates their relevance for microwave applications. Then, three different topologies of ultra wideband "full-composite" antennas have been specifically developed for the SAMCOM (/Antenna Systems in COMposite Materials)/ FUI project. The first, a Rugby-Ball shaped antenna, has one octave and a half of bandwidth with a positive gain and λ/4 x λ/4 x λ/10 dimensions (length x width x height). The second, a 3D dipole antenna with λ/3 x λ/3 x λ/10 dimensions, has two octaves and a half of bandwidth also with a positive gain. At last, the third antenna with a planar structure has been specifically developed for the reception of digital terrestrial television (DTT) and will be, at the end, integrated into a structural panel of a terrestrial vehicle.

Afin de satisfaire à un cahier des charges toujours plus exigeant, l'industrie spatiale se doit d'innover en permanence, notamment dans le domaine du maintien des performances. De fait, la minimisation de la contamination moléculaire, qui provient du dégazage sous vide des matériaux constitutifs du satellite, permet d'éviter une baisse progressive des performances de ce dernier. En effet, les molécules organiques issues de ce dégazage peuvent se déposer sur les optiques ou les revêtements de contrôle thennique, altérant ainsi leur fonctionnement. De par leur porosité contrôlée, les zéolithes possèdent des propriétés compatibles avec une utilisation en orbite. Le principal obstacle à l'utilisation de ces matériaux concerne leur mise en forme. Contrairement aux poudres, les films zéolithiques permettent d'éviter la génération de poussières et présentent une meilleure durabilité tout le long de la mission en orbite.Le but de ce travail est d'étudier les propriétés d'adsorption de différentes structures zéolithiques vis-à-vis de divers polluants organiques Des films de zéolithes de types BEA et FAU ont été déposés sur des supports en verre et en fibres de carbone, respectivement. Dans les deux cas, des films homogènes, dotés d'une épaisseur compatible avec une utilisation en orbite, ont été obtenus. Les quantités adsorbées par les films ont été comparées à celles des poudres zéolithiques correspondantes. Il ressort de cette étude que les capacités d'adsorption sont légèrement plus faibles pour les films que pour les poudres, en raison de la présence de barrières diffusionnelles dans les films. Cependant, des études de désorption menées sous vide et en température ont établi que les films présentaient de meilleures capacités de rétention que les poudres, confirmant leur applicabilité dans le domaine de la décontamination moléculaire en orbite. / Molecular contamination control has been described as a key parameter for the optimization of on-orbit satellit functioning. In space conditions, the outgassing of organic pollutants jeopardizes the performances of certain instrument by contaminating critical surfaces such as thermal radiators and optical systems. The chemical nature of these pollutant has been investigated by the NASA, which listed the most frequent ones in a table. Several types of outgassed molecule were identified, mainly deriving from plasticizers (phthalates, adipates...). Moreover, elastomers, adhesives and other compounds such as hydrocarbons were also found in important quantities.In order to minimize the molecular contamination, techniques involving pre-flight bakeouts were set up, but rapidly proved to be expensive and time-consuming, as an important number of outgassing cycles was required to efficiently decrease the molecular contaminationThat is why other porous materials had to be investigated, highlighting zeolite relevancy for satellite decontamination.These aluminosilicate materials exhibit an ordered molecular-sized porous network which induces high sorption properties and an outstanding size and shape selectivity. Another topic of interest deals with the shaping of zeolite for their use in space conditions. Unlike powder materials, zeolite films avoid the generation of dust particles in low earth orbit and can be easily embedded in appropriate areas throughout the lifetime of the mission.This work deals with the preparation of zeolite films and the adsorption of organic contaminants onto their surface. Zeolite beta and faujasite films were prepared on glass substrates and carbon fibers, respectively. The sorption properties towards several alkanes and aromatic molecules were investigated and the performances compared to the powders counterparts. It was shown that the films presented slightly lower sorption properties in comparison to powders, due to diffusional barriers. Nevertheless, the properties were satisfactory in respect to the requirements of space industry.

[pt] A crescente demanda por reforços em estruturas de concreto motivou a elaboração deste trabalho. Este estudo consiste na comparação entre modelos para o cálculo da parcela da força cortante resistida pelo reforço externo e na implementação computacional de um procedimento numérico para o dimensionamento da área de reforço à força cortante utilizando a NBR 6118, o modelo da treliça generalizada e a teoria do campo de compressão. Os objetivos deste estudo são: fornecer um melhor conhecimento dos materiais utilizados, promover um melhor entendimento dos parâmetros atuantes na interação do concreto com os materiais compósitos e sistematizar o dimensionamento para obtenção da área necessária de reforço com compósitos de fibras de carbono. A análise dos modelos de cálculo da resistência à força cortante e do dimensionamento da área de reforço foi feita através da comparação dos resultados teóricos com resultados experimentais encontrados na literatura. O modelo para o cálculo da parcela da força cortante resistida pelo reforço externo publicado por Chen e Teng em 2003 foi utilizado na implementação computacional por ser o modelo que apresentou melhor desempenho na comparação. As comparações entre os resultados teóricos do dimensionamento e os resultados experimentais da literatura indicaram a necessidade de se avançar nos estudos para a elaboração de um modelo apropriado para o dimensionamento da área de reforço à força cortante com compósito de fibras de carbono. / [en] The increasing demand for reinforcement of concrete structures using carbon fiber composites was the main motivation of this work. This study consists of the comparison of different models that compute the contribution of the external reinforcement to the shear capacity of the beams, and of the implementation of a numerical procedure for the shear design of strengthened beams using the Brazilian code NBR 6118, the generalized truss model and the compression field theory. The objectives of this study are to supply a better knowledge of the materials used in the strengthening, to promote a better understanding of the parameters that act in the interaction between the concrete and the composite, and to systematize the design in order to obtain the carbon fiber composite cross-section area necessary for the reinforcement. The analysis of the shear reinforcement design models for determining the cross-section area of the carbon fiber composite was developed comparing the analytical results with the experimental results found in literature. The Chen and Teng model, published in 2003, for computing the contribution of the external reinforcement to the shear capacity of the beams, was used in the computational implementation due to the fact that it presented the best performance. Comparing the analytical results obtained by the theoretical model with the experimental results found in literature, the investigations showed the necessity of further studies regarding the implementation of a more appropriate model for the design of the shear reinforcement, and for a more precise computation of the cross-section area of the carbon fiber composite reinforcement.

[pt] O objetivo foi estudar a aderência entre o compósito de fibra de carbono (CFC) e o substrato de concreto, em corpos-de-prova compostos de cubos de concreto, por meio do ensaio de tração-compressão. Foram ensaiados 18 corposde- prova compostos de dois cubos de concreto (móvel e fixo) ligados por tiras de CFC coladas às suas laterais opostas onde a região à ser estudada foi devidamente instrumentada. Os parâmetros estudados foram a resistência do concreto, o tipo de carregamento (monotônico crescente e carregamento em ciclos de carga e descarga) e as diferentes superfícies do concreto (superfície lisa e superfície rugosa). Os resultados dos ensaios mostraram que para as diferentes resistências à compressão do concreto no intervalo estudado não se obteve uma formulação que indicasse a influencia da resistência à compressão sob a resistência última de aderência, para a qual foi obtido um valor característico igual a 1,44 MPa. Foram medidas as deformações específicas do CFC assim como do concreto, com as quais foram calculadas as tensões de aderência e as deformações específicas. Com os resultados experimentais foram obtidos gráficos e curvas de ajuste para energia de fratura vs. resistência de aderência. Com o critério de Coulomb-Mohr generalizado pode-se estimar como valor inicial a resistência de aderência da ordem de 30% da tensão tangencial máxima resistida pelo substrato de concreto. / [en] The purpose of this work was study the bond between the composite of fiber carbon (CFC) and the concrete substratum. A total of 18 tension-compression tests on specimens with two concrete cubes (fixed and movable) linked by fiber carbon on opposites sides were performed. The area to be studied was properly monitored. The variables of these tests were the concrete strength, the loading type (monotonic loading and loading/unloading cycles), and different concrete surfaces (smooth face and rough face). The test results showed that in the interval analyzed, could not be obtain a formulation that indicates the influence of ultimate bond stress on concrete strength. A characteristic value of 1,44 MPa was obtained for the ultimate bond stress. The specific deformations of CFC and concrete were measured, allowing to calculate the bond stress and the corresponding mean strain. The experimental results provided graphs and adjustment curves for energy of fracture vs. bond stress. With the Coulomb- Mohr criteria it can be considered as initial value for bond stress 30% of the concrete mean shear strain.