Composite materials like carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) present highly appealing material properties, as they can combine high strength with low weight. In aerospace applications, these properties help to realize lightweight designs that can reduce fuel consumption. Within the aerospace industry, the use of these types of materials has increased drastically with the introduction of a new generation of commercial aircraft. This increased use of CFRP drives a need to develop more rational manufacturing methods. For aerospace applications, CFRP products are commonly manufactured from a material called prepreg, which consists of carbon fibers impregnated with uncured polymer resin. There are two dominant manufacturing technologies for automated manufacturing using prepreg, automated tape layup and automated fiber placement. These two technologies are not suitable for all types of products, either due to technical limitations or a combination of high investment costs and low productivity. Automation alternatives to the two dominant technologies have been attempted, but have so far had limited impact. Due to the lack of automation alternatives, manual manufacturing methods are commonly employed for the manufacturing of complex-shaped products in low to medium manufacturing volumes. The research presented in this thesis aims to explore how automated manufacturing systems for the manufacturing of complex CFRP products made from prepreg can be designed so that they meet the needs and requirements of the aerospace industry, and are suitable for low to medium production volumes. In order to explore the area, a demonstrator-centered research approach has been employed. A number of demonstrators, in the form of automated manufacturing cells, have been designed and tested with industrial and research partners. The demonstrators have been used to identify key methods and technologies that enable this type of manufacturing, and to analyze some of these methods and technologies in detail. The demonstrators have also been used to map challenges that affect the development of enabling methods and technologies. Automated manufacturing of products with complex shapes can be simplified by dividing the process into two steps. Thin layers of prepreg are laid up on top of each other to form flat laminates that are formed to the desired shape in subsequent forming operations. The key methods and technologies required to automate such a system are methods and technologies for automated prepreg layup, the automated removal of backing paper and the forming of complex shapes. The main challenges are the low structural rigidity and tacky nature of prepreg materials, the extensive quality requirements in the aerospace industry and the need for the systems to handle a wide array of prepreg shapes. The demonstrators show that it is possible to automate the manufacturing of complexshaped products using automated layup and forming of prepreg laminates. Tests using the demonstrators indicate that it is possible to meet the quality requirements that apply to manual manufacturing of similar products. / Polymera kolfiberkompositer erbjuder en eftertraktad kombination av låg vikt och högstyrka som kan bidra till lättviktskonstruktioner som t.ex. kan leda till bränslebesparingarför passagerarflygplan. Inom flygindustrin har användningen av denna materialtyp ökatkraftigt med introduktionen av en ny generation flygplan som till mer än hälften består avkompositmaterial. Den ökade användningen av polymera fiberkompositer medför ett ökatbehov av rationella produktionsmetoder. Inom flygindustrin tillverkas ofta polymera kolfiberkompositprodukter av så kallatprepreg-material som består av kolfibrer impregnerade med en plast. Det finns tvåhuvudalternativ för automatisk tillverkning av prepreg-baserade produkter, automatisktejpläggning eller automatisk fiberplacering. De två alternativen har tekniskabegränsningar och är förknippade med mycket höga investeringskostnader vilket gör attdet finns produkter som de inte kan tillverka eller som inte är kostnadseffektiva atttillverka med dessa två metoder. Andra automatiska alternativ har utvecklats, men har intenått någon större industriell implementering. Bristen på automatiseradetillverkningsalternativ leder till att produkter med komplex form, och som tillverkas i småoch medelstora volymer ofta tillverkas manuellt. Forskningen som presenteras i denna avhandling syftar till att undersöka hur automatiskatillverkningsceller för tillverkning av polymera kolfiberkompositprodukter med komplexform kan utformas så att de uppfyller de krav som gäller för tillverkningen av produkterför flygindustrin och är lämpliga för låga och medelhöga tillverkningsvolymer. Endemonstratorcentrerad forskningsmetod har använt för att utforska området och ett flertaldemonstratorer har byggts och testats tillsammans med partners från industrin och andraforskningsorganisationer. Demonstratorerna, som är kompletta tillverkningsceller, haranvänts för att identifiera metoder och utrustning som är nödvändiga att utveckla för attautomatisera denna typ av tillverkning och för att undersöka några metoder och tillhörandeutrustning mer i detalj. Demonstratorerna har också använts för att kartlägga faktorer sompåverkar hur metoder och utrustning utformas. Automatisk tillverkning av produkter med komplex form kan förenklas genom att delaupp tillverkningen i två steg. Först läggs prepreg-ark ihop till ett laminat som formas tillproduktens form i ett efterföljande steg. För att automatisera denna typ av tillverkningbehöver nyckelmetoder och nyckelutrustning för hopläggning av laminat, borttagning avskyddspapper samt formning av laminat till komplexa former utvecklas. Viktiga faktorersom påverkar utformningen av tillverkningscellerna är prepreg-materialens låga styvhetoch klibbiga yta, de höga kvalitetskrav som gäller för tillverkning avflygplanskomponenter samt att systemen måste hantera en stor mängd olikformadeprepreg-ark. Demonstratorerna visar att det är möjligt att automatisera tillverkningen avpolymera kolfiberprodukter med komplex form genom automatisk uppläggning ochformning av plana laminat. Tester med demonstratorerna pekar på att det är möjligt atttillverka produkterna i enlighet med de kvalitetskrav som finns för manuell tillverkningav liknande produkter.

Vid deltagande i internationella insatser kan Flygvapnet komma att möta nya typer av hot som Flygvapnet tidigare inte stött på, vilket medför att en anpassning eller förändring av flygtaktiken är en förutsättning för att undvika flygplansskador. 2000-talets lättviktflygplan medför en skyddsnivå på flygplanen som är låg och motståndaren kan påverka materialet samt konstruktionen i flygplanen genom beskjutning med finkalibriga projektiler. Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera hur den nya hotbilden skiljer sig från vad Flygvapnet ställs inför nationellt samt analysera hur finkalibrig eld påverkar kompositmaterial och hur det i sig påverkar flygtaktiken. Inledningsvis utgår jag i uppsatsen från en beskrivande metod av empirin i syfte att läsaren skall få förståelse samt bakgrund inom de belysta ämnena för att förstå det som senare diskuteras i uppsatsen. Därefter övergå uppsatsen till en hotbildsanalys i syfte att senare diskutera och dra slutsatser om hur flygtaktiken bör anpassas för internationella insatser. I slutsatsen har jag kommit fram till att finkalibrig elds påverkan på kompositmaterial är mycket effektiv vilket innebär att projektilen slår igenom och deformerar materialet. Vidare diskuteras alternativ till genomförande av start och landning för att minska exponeringstiden och undvika att motståndaren kan påverka flygplanen. / While participating in international missions, the Swedish Air force may encounter new kinds of threats. This result in a needed adaptation or change in flight tactics to avoid aircraft damage. The light weight plans of the 21th century have a low degree of protection and the opponent can affect the material and construction with small arms. The purposes of this essay is to analyze how the new threats differ from what the Swedish Air force faces on a national level, and also analyze how small arms affects composite and in turn affects the flight tactics. I have initially used a descriptive method of the empiri and thereafter I used an analytic method in order to later on discuss and finding a conclusion on how the flight tactics need to be adapted and changed for international missions. In the conclusion I found that low caliber fire affects the composite material in a high degree, which means that the projectile will deform, disfigure and go straight through the material. I also discuss alternatives for the takeoff and landing procedures in a way that will reduce the exposure time and avoid the affects that the opponents can make on the aircraft.

Biobased all-cellulose composites (ACCs), in which the matrix and the reinforcement are made out of the same material, have gained a noticeable increased attention in recent years. Their successful application would solve the commonly faced challenges with natural fiber composites regarding their chemical antipathy between the hydrophilic fiber and the usually hydrophobic polymer matrix, while still keeping the advantages of being environmental friendly. Moreover, the use of man-made continuous regenerated cellulose fibers for this purpose could result in unidirectional all-cellulose composites with excellent mechanical properties. In this study, a new processing technique for unidirectional all-cellulose composites, reinforced with continuous regenerated cellulose nanocomposite fibers, has been developed, where the fibers are wound directly after the coagulation bath and then welded together while still being swelled in order to form all-cellulose composite sheets without the need of adding any additional solvent or chemicals. Scanning electron microscopy and tensile testing were used to investigate and compare the microstructure and mechanical properties, of a reference material without nanoreinforced fibers and two variants reinforced with 2 % cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and 2 % halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). Analysis revealed that transparent all-cellulose composites with a high compaction degree and minimal warpage during shrinkage, showing high mechanical properties could be made. However, the addition of nanoreinforcements did not lead to any improvements.

Glass fibre composites are common materials used in high voltage applications as insulating materials that provide good structural integrity. The aim of this thesis is to develop a method of studying the failure in such materials by measuring the dielectric strength on micro- and meso- scale samples, consisting of single fibre filaments and fibre bundles respectively embedded in epoxy resin. To do this, a body of relevant knowledge has been amassed, which is complemented with finite element analysis giving detailed insight into the electric field distribution in the microstructure of fibre composites. A method of producing virtually defect free single fibre samples has been developed where a filament is hung down tubes and cast in epoxy resin. A similar method was developed for producing bundle samples, however this needs some slight correction in order to prevent exothermic reactions. The dielectric strength of these samples are measured by applying a continuously increasing voltage until discharge is recorded. To evaluate the method micro- and meso- scale samples were prepared of three different fibres and their dielectric strengths measured. This evaluation showed that the method can be used to measure a definitive lower bound in the dielectric strength of fibre composites. However, the method can not definitively determine the location of the discharge, which is necessary to verify conclusions about the materials properties. To progress the method, the dielectric strength of neat epoxy samples of the same dimensions as the fibre composite samples should be investigated. Increasing the tolerance of the measurement setup should also be investigated as this could help by increasing the power of the discharge leading to more severe damage in the material.

To compete with other manufacturing companies in the market, product design and manufacturing methods need to be improved constantly. To save time and money, there is an advantage if there is a manufacturing plan in place before designing the final product. Composites have been used worldwide for over 6,000 years and their use is expected to increase in the future. Composites offer advantages in product design and manufacturing since it can be adapted to the intended purpose.  The purpose of the project is to determine whether it is possible to produce a magnetic polymer composite with a sufficiently high magnetism to lift a specific weight. The purpose is fulfilled through practical executions together with a literature study to find out which materials were most suitable for the application. The polymer composites were tested in magnetic tests to see if a sufficiently high magnetism was obtained to lift the specific weight.  Two steel powders, differing in particle structure and density, were mixed with an epoxy as a binder and then cast in two different moulds with a depth of 2 mm and 4 mm. The proportions of the steel powder were tested from 50% up to 97%. The result showed that sufficiently high magnetism to lift the intended weight was reached at a concentration of steel powder between 85% - 97%. The composites did not exhibit the necessary magnetic capacity to function in the intended application and therefore further tests with a magnetic material with higher relative permeability are proposed. / Syftet med arbetet är att undersöka om det går att framställa en polymerkomposit med tillräcklig magnetisk kraft för att lyfta en skiva som väger 100g. Polymerkompositen ska tillverkas genom gjutning. De parametrar som behöver tas hänsyn till i arbetet är vilka material som är lämpliga att använda i kompositen, vilka proportioner av plast- och magnetiskt material som behövs för att skapa tillräcklig magnetisk kraft och den magnetiska kraft som polymerkompositen behöver erhålla för att lyfta skivan. Materialvalet är en viktig aspekt i arbetet för att uppnå önskat resultat. Det magnetiska materialet behöver ha en hög relativ permeabilitet, det vill säga en hög grad av förmågan att magnetisera sig själv med ett pålagt externt magnetfält, för att uppnå tillräcklig magnetisk kraft. Vid val av polymermaterial är det viktigt att ta hänsyn till materialets viskositet, med andra ord, materialets tjockhet. Det med anledning för att en lägre viskositet hos polymeren tillåter högre koncentration av metallpartiklar. Vilket är önskvärt för att få in så mycket magnetiskt material som möjligt i polymerkompsiten. Proportionerna av de två materialen behöver anpassas efter dess egenskaper för att uppnå en önskad magnetisk kraft. Ett magnetiskt material som har en hög relativ permeabilitet behöver till exempel blandas med ett polymermaterial med högre viskositet för att blandningen inte ska sedimentera.   Kompositer har använts i hela världen i över 6000 år och användningen förväntas att öka under framtiden. Grunden till detta projekt är att en stålbricka med magnetiska egenskaper ska bytas ut mot en magnetisk polymerkomposit i ett instrument. Fördelen med en komposit är möjligheten att anpassas efter ändamålet och därför till exempel kan vara lättare, tåligare, flexibla och motstå korrosion.  Genom praktiska undersökningar tillsammans med en litteraturstudie uppfylls syftet att ta reda på lämpliga material och proportioner. Avslutningsvis ska de gjutna polymerkompositerna testas i magnetiska tester för att undersöka om tillräckligt hög magnetism kan erhållas för att lyfta den specifika vikten. I arbetet används två stålpulver som skiljer sig i partikelstruktur och densitet, dessa stålpulver blandas med bindemedlet epoxi och gjuts därefter i två olika formar med djupet 2mm och 4mm. Proportionerna i vikt för stålpulvret testades från 50% upp till 97%. Resultatet visade att tillräckligt hög magnetism för att lyfta avsedd vikt nåddes vid en koncentration av stålpulver mellan 85% -97%. Resultatet visade inte tillräckligt hög magnetism för att fungera i den avsedda applikationen och därför föreslås vidare tester med ett magnetiskt material med högre relativ permeabilitet.

Cross-ply composite laminates can develop very high density of transverse cracks in the 90-layer under severe thermal and mechanical loading conditions. At such high crack densities, two adjacent cracks start to interact, and a stress gradient is created in the region between these cracks. Due to the presence of high stress gradients, thickness averaging of longitudinal stress becomes obsolete. Thus, a detailed analysis of stress state along the thickness direction becomes necessary to study growth conditions of fiber sized microcracks initiated at the interface between 0-layer and 90-layer. Stress analysis at various crack densities is carried out in this project using finite element analysis or FEM as the main tool. This analysis is coupled with strain energy release rate (ERR) studies for a microcrack which grows in transverse direction from one interface to the other. The growth of this microcrack is found to be strongly influenced by the stress gradients and a presence of compressive stresses along midplane under tensile loading conditions at high crack densities.

High voltage bushings are the most critical components of power transformers. A common material used in bushings is resin impregnated paper (RIP). Hitachi Energy is investigating whether this can be replaced with a new material, resin impregnated non-woven (RIN). One of the main reasons is that non-woven is less prone to absorb moisture compared to paper. Thus, for design purposes the mechanical, thermal and absorption properties of RIN have been studied and compared to RIP. The mechanical properties were tested by tensile and bending tests at room temperature and 80 ℃, showing that RIN has a lower elastic modulus and tensile strength than RIP at both temperatures. However, it was demonstrated that RIN does not retain its elongation at break and elasticity properties at elevated temperatures. The bending test showed no significant differences in flexural properties for RIN between room and high temperature. The thermal properties were studied with the transient plane source method (TPS) showing that both RIN and RIP had a higher specific heat capacity than pure epoxy. The thermal conductivity of the materials will be measured and included later. Lastly, the water absorption test was performed in order to provide information about the suitability of the materials used in bushings. For this different methods were used; water immersion andwater vapor testing. The immersion test showed that non-woven is more water resistant than paper and that the composites only absorb a small amount of water. No useful information was achieved from the water vapor test due to limited testing time. The results demonstrate the promising potential of RIN in bushings.

Syfte: Syftet med föreliggande in-vitro studie är att undersöka olika kompositbaserade reparationssystem och dess bindningsstyrka till porslin för metallkeramiska konstruktioner. Material och metod: Metallstavar tillverkades via CAD/CAM i CoCr (5.0x5.0x15.0mm) kortsidan förbehandlades genom sandblästring (aluminumoxid, 250 µm), ångblästring, oxidation, sandblästring och ångblästring. Fältspatporslin applicerades enligt följande: opak, dentin, emalj, till höjden av 1.2 ± 0.2 mm. Porslinsytorna slipades med sandpapper, 600-, 800-, 1200-kornstorlek kiselkarbid. Fem grupper (n=15) gav totalt 75 provkroppar. På vardera provkropp applicerades adhesiv samt kompositmaterial enligt fabrikanternas anvisningar (Kuraray, Kulzer, Voco, Ivoclar) inklusive kontrollgrupp som etsades med fluorvätesyra (Ultradent). Samtliga provkroppar termocyklades (5000 cykler, mellan 5°C och 55°C) före/efter applicering av kompositmaterial. Skjuvkraftstest utfördes på alla provkroppar med belastningshastighet 0.5 mm/min. Frakturanalys utfördes där brottytorna delades in i adhesiv-, kohesiv- eller mixfraktur. Resultaten analyserades med one-way ANOVA, Tukey´s test med signifikansnivån α=0.05. Resultat: Fluorvätesyra påvisade en signifikant högre bindningsstyrka 11.32 ± 4.28  MPa i jämförelse med övriga grupper (p<0.01). Övriga gruppers medelvärde var mellan 2.61 ± 1.36 till 3.96 ± 2.85 MPa. Det fanns ingen signifikant skillnad mellan de övriga grupperna. Samtliga grupper fick adhesiva frakturer, men Voco-gruppen uppvisade även mixfrakturer.  Slutsats: Samtliga reparationssystem visar på låg bindningsstyrka och baserat på resultaten kan det inte rekommenderas. Förbehandling av porslinsyta med fluorvätesyra i kombination med silan resulterar i högst bindningsstyrka till komposit. Värdet är trots allt lågt för en god långtidsprognos, men det enda som kan rekommenderas. Det faktum att fluorvätesyra har giftiga egenskaper vore det lämpligt att fortsätta utvecklingen av reparationssystem för att hitta ett lämpligt alternativ. / Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate different repair systems and their bond strength to porcelain for metal-ceramic constructions. Material and method: Metal were manufactured by CAD / CAM in CoCr (5.0x5.0x15.0mm), was pretreated with sandblasting (alumina, 250 µm), steam blasting, oxidation, sandblasting and steam blasting. Feldspar porcelain was applied according to the following steps: opaque, dentin, enamel, selfglaze to a final porcelain height of 1.2 ± 0.2 mm. The porcelain surfaces were groud with silicon carbide sandpaper, 600-, 800-, 1200-grain size. Five groups (n = 15) in a total of 75 specimens. Adhesives and composite materials were applied to each group according to the instructions of the various manufacturers  (Kuraray, Kulzer, Voco, Ivoclar, Ultradent, Etching with hydrofluoric acid). All specimens were thermocycled (5000 cycles) in two water baths between 5 ° C and 55 ° C before and after application of composite material. Shear bond strength test was performed on all specimens with a load speed of 0.5 mm / min and the bond strength was reported in MPa. Fracture analysis was performed where the fracture surfaces were divided into adhesive, cohesive or mixed fracture. The results were analyzed with one-way ANOVA, Tukey´s test with significance level α= 0.05. Result: The result clearly showed that hydrofluoric acid had a significantly higher bond strength of 11.32 ± 4.28 MPa compared to the other groups (p <0.01). The mean value of the other groups was between 2.61 ± 1.36 to 3.96 ± 2.85 MPa, with  no significant difference between the groups. All groups had adhesive fractures, but the Voco-group also showed mixed fractures. Conclusion: The study concludes that all repair systems have a low bond strength and based on the results can’t be recommended. Pretreatment of the porcelain surface with hydrofluoric acid in combination with silan results in the highest bond strength to composite, the bond strength is still too low for long-term use, but the only one that can be recommended. However hydrofluoric acid is highly toxic which require further research in the field in order to develop reparation systems with suitable properties.

The thesis contains a background and reflections section, an introduction, and three appended articles. The first section is reserved for some of the background and basics on polymers and polymer composites and a discussion on their effect on our everyday lives. The introduction gives a brief recap of the project. The articles contain the research that was performed on the thermal oxidation of thermosetting polyimides and their composites during the project. The first article covered the thermal oxidative degradation of satin weave and thin-ply composites made by resin transfer molding with carbon fibers and thermosetting polyimide. The degradation was studied by weight loss measurements and X-ray computed microtomography. The weight loss measurements showed that the initial desorption stage during ageing followed Fickian behavior and the proposed model. It was also observed that the satin weave composites formed crack clusters that grew into a network of cracks, voids and delaminations throughout the specimens as the ageing time progressed, while the thin-ply composites only formed delaminations at the free edges. The second manuscript studied the behavior of the neat polyimide resin when aged for up to 1500 hours in ambient air, and compared it with a newly developed polyimide formulation, with slightly altered chemical composition. The reduced amount of internal crosslinkers in the newer formulation was expected to enhance the fracture toughness of the material. Three-point bending, differential scanning calorimetry, dilatometry, weight loss, light optical microscopy and nanoindentation experiments were performed and highlighted the differences in the thermal and mechanical properties of the two formulations. A slight increase in the fracture toughness was observed, while the glass transition of the new formulation had decreased. The third manuscript was aimed at continuing the discussion from the second article on the differences between the two thermosetting polyimides. Thermogravimetric scans showed that the polyimide formulations behaved very similarly under thermal oxidative tests. The initial analysis gave indications that the model could capture well the degradation at high temperatures, but is not adequate in predicting long-term degradation at temperatures around 288–400 °C.

The objective of this study was to produce a metal matrix composite (MMC). This compositematerial proves highly suitable for scenarios involving abrasive wear, owing to the exceptionalhardness of carbide particles, in conjunction with the remarkable ductility and capacity for workhardening found in Hadfield steel. Therefore, the effect of WC and TiC on the microstructure,mechanical properties, and wear resistance was investigated. The X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)technique and Scanning Electron Microscope coupled with Energy X-ray Dispersive Spectroscopy(SEM-EDS) were employed to examine the phase transformation and microstructurecharacteristics of the MMCs. The grain size of carbides was calculated using ImageJ software.The wear test was conducted using a mini jaw crusher equipped with a stationary jaw (SJ) andmovable jaw (MJ). The wear characterization involved assessing volume loss, hardness profile,and the worn surface. The microstructures showed the formation of carbides particles dispersedwithin the matrix. Compared to the hardness of the manganese steel matrix, the MMCs exhibiteda significant increase in hardness. Regarding the wear performances, the movable jaw (MJ)demonstrated greater resistance (lower volume loss) compared to the stationnary jaw (SJ), indicatingdifferent wear mechanisms between the two jaws. The worn surface exhibited a texturedappearance with visible grooves, scratches, and embedded abrasive fragments. The hardnessprofile from the worn surface towards the core displayed a gradual decrease for both the SJ andMJ, indicating the work hardening capacity of manganese steel.