Prediction quality of macroscopic forming simulation of non-crimp fabrics for aerospace applications

A fully automated resin transfer molding (RTM) process is commonly used to manufacture large quantities of continuous fiber-reinforced composite components economically. Due to the high cost of process development, the process is currently used only to a limited extent in aerospace applications. Virtual process chains significantly reduce the process development phase. The simulation of the individual process steps enables the virtual safeguarding of the manufacturability of components and systems. The first step in the process simulation of the RTM process is forming. Compared to woven fabrics, the modeling of non-crimp fabrics (NCFs) at the macroscopic simulation level is not yet sufficiently established. Therefore, this work investigates the predictive quality of the current forming simulation methods for NCFs. The geometry of the validation component is derived from an aerospace application. A segmented stamp concept is developed to mitigate forming defects. First, the stamp concept is virtually optimized by adjusting the segmentation and sequence. Second, the optimized tooling concept is manufactured, and experimental forming studies are performed. ... mehrFinally, the simulation results and the produced preforms are compared to demonstrate the predictive quality of current simulation models for NCF forming.