Manufacturing Defects and their effect on the Mechanical Performance of lighter aeroengines

Purpose and goal:

The project is focusing on the development, manufacturing and validation of advanced innovative lightweight components for next-generation of aeroengines.The introduction of innovative materials, i.e. reinforcements and resins, has the potential to increase performance even further compared to conventional material systems while addressing the weight reduction provided by composite solution. The expected outcomes of this project are to investigate and understand the impact of manufacturing defects as well as to predict the effects of on the mechanical performance.

Expected results and effects:

The expected outcomes of this project are to investigate the effect of manufacturing parameters on the size, the location, and the density of defects, as well as to understand and predict the effects of those defects on the mechanical performance of composite laminates. An analytical model that can predict damages with consideration of the effect of defects will be developped and verified with mechanical testing.

Approach and implementation:

An efficient testing methodology, based on an optimized combination of thermal-mechanical tests and damage investigation using destructive and non-destructive methods, will be performed to characterize the effect of defects on the performance of the laminates. Tests will be performed for laminates manufactured using current in-house manufacturing method. Collected data will be used to develop a model to predict the effect of defects on the mechanical performance of laminates.