This thesis examines the feasibility of manufacturing small marine propellers from continuous fibre reinforced polymer composite materials. An appraisal of some current applications of composite materials in the marine industry is given, together with the moves shown towards the use of composites in the area of propeller design. It has been shown that manufacturing propellers in composite materials is theoretically more cost effective than traditional materials. The manufacturing route investigated is Resin Transfer Moulding, where some detailed investigations have highlighted some of the critical processing parameters necessary for successful production of laminates suitable for propellers and other high performance marine structures. A thorough testing programme of 4 novel designs of composite propeller is reported. Trials at sea on university run vessels has enabled many hours use to be logged, which has shown the fitness for purpose of propellers made from glass reinforced, epoxy composite. Experimental tank testing has helped to shape the remainder of the research by identifying the possibility of using hydroelastic tailoring to improve the efficiency of the propeller when a variety of operating conditions are required from the propulsion system. Further experience is required with respect to the the tooling construction and the life assessment of the propeller. To facilitate appropriate modelling of the propeller, spreadsheet based load prediction models have been used. Finite element analysis (FEA) was used to model the elastic characteristics of one particular design of novel composite propeller. This indicated that traditional geometries may be too stiff to allow significant performance advantages from the anisotropy of the material. However the potential does exist for modified propeller geometries made from composite to give some performance benefit. For specific applications, small marine propellers made from continuous glass fibre reinforced epoxy composite are likely to yield cost savings over traditional propeller materials.

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Ce travail traite la problématique des bulles d’air contenues dans les pièces composites mises en œuvre par le procédé RTM. La modélisation des phénomènes de création, de compression et de transport de ce type de défauts est présentée. Notamment l’adoption d’un nouveau modèle de création des bulles d’air, de transport, et l’estimation des porosités à double échelle de pores ainsi que la saturation finale de la préforme sont données. / This work covers the problematic of air bubbles entrapped during manufacturing composite parts via the RTM process. Modeling creation, compression, and transport of this type of defaults is presented here. Likewise, a new approach of air bubble’s creation, transport modeling, simulation of porosities at dual scale of pores, and estimation of the final saturation of the preform are given.

The aim of this study is to investigate and compare the properties of two layer carbon epoxy composite plates manufactured using various resin impregnation techniques / Resin Transfer Molding (RTM), Light RTM (LRTM), Vacuum Assisted RTM (VARTM) and Vacuum Packaging (VP). Throughout the study a different packaging method was developed and named Modified Vacuum Packaging (BP). The mechanical properties of composite plates manufactured are examined by tensile tests, compressive tests, in-plane shear tests and their thermal properties are examined by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) tests. All tests were performed according to suitable ASTM standards. The performance of specimens from each process was observed to vary according to the investigated property / however the VP process showed the highest performance for most properties. For most of the tests, VARTM, LRTM and RTM methods were following VP process in terms of performance, having close results with each other.

Compression Resin Transfer Molding (CRTM) is an advanced liquid molding process for producing continuous fiber-reinforced composite parts in relatively large dimensions and with high fiber volume fractions. This thesis investigates this process for the purpose of producing continuous fiber reinforced composites with particle fillers. In many composites, fillers are used within the resin for various reasons such as cost reduction and improvement of properties. However, the presence of fillers in a process involving resin impregnation through a fibrous medium can result in a composite with non-homogeneous microstructure and properties. This work aims to model the resin impregnation and particle filtration during injection and compression stages of the process. For this purpose, a previously developed particle filtration model is adapted to CRTM. An appropriate commercial software tool is used for numerical solution after a survey of available packages. The process is analyzed based on the developed model for various process scenarios. The results of this study aim to enhance the understanding of particle-filled resin impregnation and particle filtration phenomena in the CRTM process and are likely to be used towards designing optimum process configurations for a desired outcome in the future.

L’intégration des contraintes d’industrialisation, des pièces en matériaux composites, en conception préliminaire, est un enjeu majeur de la compétitivité des entreprises, et s’inscrit dans une démarche de développement durable. Un travail de captation et de mise en forme de la connaissance industrielle a permis de développer une stratégie d’optimisation. Cette stratégie repose sur une approche multi-métiers, elle permet d’estimer la performance technique et économique d’une solution d’industrialisation. L’estimation de la performance est basée sur l’évaluation, pour chaque solution d’industrialisation, du risque de rupture du composant assemblé, du niveau d’intégration fonctionnelle et du coût de fabrication. La définition de la meilleure alternative est obtenue par la comparaison de la performance de solutions et s’appuie sur des méthodes et outils d’aide à la décision. Le risque de rupture est estimé à partir des écarts entre des caractéristiques de la pièce fabriquée par procédé Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) et les caractéristiques nominales. Les caractéristiques de la pièce fabriquée prises en compte sont : - les écarts géométriques, - les écarts de caractéristiques mécaniques. Dans l’industrie aéronautique, certaines pièces de structure en matériaux composites sont réalisées par le procédé RTM. Dans ce type de mise en forme, les caractéristiques mécaniques du composant sont directement liées au niveau d’imprégnation de la préforme. Dans le travail de thèse, les défauts d’imprégnation sont identifiés comme des écarts volumiques d’imprégnation. Ces écarts ont pour conséquence d’altérer les propriétés mécaniques du matériau qui constitue la pièce. L’estimation des écarts volumiques d’imprégnation est obtenue à partir de l’analyse des résultats de la simulation par éléments finis de l’écoulement de résine dans le renfort fibreux (logiciel Pam RTM®). La géométrie de la pièce obtenue par procédé RTM diffère de la géométrie nominale, cet écart est due en partie aux différences entre les caractéristiques physiques des constituants du matériau composite. Les variations géométriques de la pièce fabriquée sont identifiées comme des écarts géométriques de fabrication. Les écarts géométriques sont compensés, lors de la phase d’assemblage, par des déformations garantissant les contacts avec les pièces adjacentes. Ces déformations génèrent un état de contraintes mécaniques au sein de la pièce. La quantification de l’état de contraintes mécaniques est obtenue à partir d’une simulation thermomécanique par éléments finis réalisée par le logiciel Samcef®. L’aide à la décision est basée sur l’étude combinée de l’état de contraintes mécaniques due à la compensation des écarts géométriques et de l’incidence des écarts volumiques d’imprégnation sur les propriétés mécaniques de la pièce. Trois critères permettent d’estimer le risque de rupture du composant assemblé : un critère de rupture des matériaux composites quantifie le risque de rupture, les deux autres critères, prenant en compte les défauts d’imprégnation, majorent le risque de rupture. Afin de faciliter l’interprétation des résultats et la phase de comparaison de solutions, le risque de rupture est présenté sous forme d’une cartographie. En fonction des couplages des valeurs des critères, une optimisation de la conception et/ou de l’industrialisation est proposée. Une évaluation du niveau d’intégration fonctionnelle ainsi que du coût de fabrication complète la démarche d’aide à la décision. / Integrating industrialization constraints of composite materials into preliminary design is a major challenge for companies in terms of competitiveness, and is part of a sustainable development approach. Work on capturing and formatting industry knowledge has helped develop a design optimization strategy. This strategy is based on multidisciplinary rules, and estimates the technical and economic performance of an industrialization solution. This estimate is based on the evaluation of failure risk of component assembly, level of functional integration and manufacturing cost. The definition of the best alternative is obtained by comparing solution performances, relying on decision support methods and tools. The failure risk is estimated from differences between the characteristics of the part manufactured by Resin Transfer Molding Process (RTM) and the nominal part (CAD). The following characteristics of the manufactured part are taken into account: ? - geometric deviations, ? - characteristic mechanical deviations. In the aviation industry, some structural composite parts are manufacture by RTM. In this type of manufacture, the mechanical properties of the component are directly related to the level of preform impregnation. In this thesis, the impregnation defects are identified as volumic impregnation deviations. These deviations have the effect of altering the mechanical properties of material. Estimated volume impregnation deviations are obtained by analysing the results of the finite element simulation of resin flow into the fibrous reinforcement (software Pam RTM ®). The part geometry obtained using the RTM process differs from the nominal geometry, with the deviation due partly to differences between the physical components of the composite material. The geometric variations in the manufactured part are identified as geometric manufacturing deviations. These geometric deviations are offset, in the assembly phase, by deformations due to contact with adjacent parts, which generate a state of mechanical stress within the part. The mechanical stress state is quantified from a finite element thermomechanical simulation carried out using the Samcef ® software. Decision support is based on the combined study of the state of mechanical stress due to the compensation of geometric deviations and the incidence of volume impregnation deviations on the mechanical properties of the part. Three criteria are used to estimate the failure risk of the assembled component: a composite materials failure criterion quantifies failure risk; the other two criteria, taking into account the impregnation defects, increase the failure risk. To facilitate interpretation of results and the solution comparison phase, the failure risk is represented by mapping. Depending on the coupling values of the criteria, optimizing the design and/or industrialization is proposed. An evaluation of the level of functional integration and manufacturing cost complete the decision support process.

The increasing demand for polymer matrix composites (PMCs) from the airframe industry raises the issues of productivity, cost and reproducibility of manufactured PMC components. Performance reproducibility is closely related to the manufacturing technique. Resin transfer moulding (RTM) offers the advantage of flexible manufacturing of net-shape PMC components with superior repeatability starting from ready-to-impregnate dry reinforcements. An RTM apparatus was developed for manufacturing PMC plates and demonstrator components representative of actual, PMC components and PMC moulds made and used in the airframe industry. The RTM process developed in this work involved making net-shape dry carbon fibre preforms and impregnating them an epoxy resin, targeting mould applications. Thermal repeatability of different net-shape PMC components manufactured using the RTM apparatus developed in-house was investigated. Effects of bonding an outer copper plate onto the PMC material, targeting mould applications known as integrally heated copper tooling (IHCT), were explored. Heat conduction through the PMC components was studied using simulation models validated by experimental data obtained primarily by thermography. Manufactured PMC components showed good repeatability, particularly in terms of thermal behaviour. The IHCT technique was found to be well suited for mould applications. Expected advantages of thermography were materialised. Finally, the simulation models developed were in good agreement with experimental data.

The increasing demand for polymer matrix composites (PMCs) from the airframe industry raises the issues of productivity, cost and reproducibility of manufactured PMC components. Performance reproducibility is closely related to the manufacturing technique. Resin transfer moulding (RTM) offers the advantage of flexible manufacturing of net-shape PMC components with superior repeatability starting from ready-to-impregnate dry reinforcements. An RTM apparatus was developed for manufacturing PMC plates and demonstrator components representative of actual, PMC components and PMC moulds made and used in the airframe industry. The RTM process developed in this work involved making net-shape dry carbon fibre preforms and impregnating them an epoxy resin, targeting mould applications. Thermal repeatability of different net-shape PMC components manufactured using the RTM apparatus developed in-house was investigated. Effects of bonding an outer copper plate onto the PMC material, targeting mould applications known as integrally heated copper tooling (IHCT), were explored. Heat conduction through the PMC components was studied using simulation models validated by experimental data obtained primarily by thermography. Manufactured PMC components showed good repeatability, particularly in terms of thermal behaviour. The IHCT technique was found to be well suited for mould applications. Expected advantages of thermography were materialised. Finally, the simulation models developed were in good agreement with experimental data.

Bismaleimide resins are important in aerospace applications as matrix component of composite materials due to their high thermal and mechanical properties. 4,4&rsquo / -bismaleimidodiphenylmethane (BMI) which is the most widely used bismaleimide, was synthesized starting from maleic anhydride and 4,4&rsquo / -diaminodiphenylmethane (MDA). N,N&rsquo / -diallylaminodiphenyl methane (ADM), N,N&rsquo / -diallylaminodiphenyl sulfone (ADS) and N,N&rsquo / -diallyl p-phenyl diamine (PDA) were synthesized by allylating primary aromatic diamines. Nine different prepolymers with 1:1, 1.5:1 and 2:1 molar ratios of BMI/diallyl compound were prepared and cured. The effect of increase in BMI ratio on thermal properties of the resin systems were investigated via Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermal Gravimetric Analyzer (TGA). DSC results showed that the curing temperature of the resins increased due to the increase in BMI ratio in the resins. Thermal gravimetric analysis showed that incorporation of BMI monomer improved the thermal stability of the resins. BMI/ADM resin system showed better thermal stability compared to BMI/ADS and BMI/PDA resins. Processing characteristics of resins having 1:1 and 1.5:1 mole ratio of BMI/ADM were investigated by viscosity measurements and these resins were found to be suitable for composite production with Resin Transfer Molding (RTM). Composites were manufactured by RTM technique using two different mole ratios of BMI/ADM resins as matrix component. The effect of different matrix composition on thermal and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. The concept of this thesis work was arised from the requirements of some projects carried out in T&uuml / bitak-SAGE. Keywords: Bismaleimide resins, composite, thermal properties, resin transfer molding.

Composite materials have the potential to revolutionize life in the 21st century. They are contributing significantly to developments in aerospace, hydrogen fuel cells, electronics and space exploration today. While a number of composite material processing methods exist, resin transfer molding (RTM) has the potential of becoming the dominant low-cost process for the fabrication of large, high-performance products. RTM has many advantages over alternative processes, including the capability of producing complex 3D shapes with a good surface finish, the incorporation of cores and inserts, a tight control over fiber placement and resin volume fraction and the possibility of embedding sensors into manufactured components for structural health monitoring. Part of the reason RTM has not received widespread use is due to its drawbacks such as its relatively trial and error nature, race tracking, washout, high cycle time and void formation. The basic operation of the process involves loading a fiber reinforcement preform into a mold cavity, closing the mold, injecting resin into the mold and allowing the resin to cure. To study the resin transfer molding process and issues affecting it, a laboratory containing an experimental RTM apparatus has been established. The apparatus has a glass window to observe the mold filling process and can incorporate various mold shapes such as a quasi-2D panel, a 3-D rectangular section and a 3-D semicircular section. To characterize the flow through the molds a commercial CFD software has been used. This thesis describes the establishment of this laboratory and preliminary studies that have been conducted.