• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.215-221
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• 2017

An electromagnetic (EM) wave absorber reduces the possibility of radar detection by minimizing the radar cross section (RCS) of structures. In this study, a radar absorbing structure (RAS) was applied to the leading edge of a blended wing body aircraft to reduce RCS in X-band (8.2~12.4GHz) radar. The RAS was composed of a periodic pattern resistive sheet with conductive lossy material and glass-fiber/epoxy composite as a spacer. The applied RAS is a multifunctional composite structure which has both electromagnetic (EM) wave absorbing ability and load-bearing ability. A two dimensional unit absorber was designed first in a flat-plate shape, and then the fabricated leading edge structure incorporating the above RAS was investigated, using simulated and free-space measured reflection loss data from the flat-plate absorber. The leading edge was implemented on the aircraft, and its RCS was measured with respect to various azimuth angles in both polarizations (VV and HH). The RCS reduction effect of the RAS was evaluated in comparison with a leading edge of carbon fabric reinforced plastics (CFRP). The designed leading edge structure was examined through static structural analysis for various aircraft load cases to check structural integrity in terms of margin of safety. The mechanical and structural characteristics of CFRP, RAS and CFRP with RAM structures were also discussed in terms of their weight.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.19-34
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• 2007

This paper presents results of a non-linear finite element analysis of axially loaded slender hollow structural section (HSS) columns, strengthened using high modulus carbon-fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) longitudinal sheets. The model was developed and verified against both experimental and other analytical models. Both geometric and material nonlinearities, which are attributed to the column's initial imperfection and plasticity of steel, respectively, are accounted for. Residual stresses have also been modeled. The axial strength in the experimental study was found to be highly dependent on the column's imperfection. Consequently, no specific correlation was established experimentally between strength gain and amount of CFRP. The model predicted the ultimate loads and failure modes quite reasonably and was used to isolate the effects of CFRP strengthening from the columns' imperfections. It was then used in a parametric study to examine columns of different slenderness ratios, imperfections, number of CFRP layers, and level of residual stresses. The study demonstrated the effectiveness of high modulus CFRP in increasing stiffness and strength of slender columns. While the columns' imperfections affect their actual strengths before and after strengthening,the percentage gain in strength is highly dependent on slenderness ratio and CFRP reinforcement ratio, rather than the value of imperfection.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.593-601
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• 2017

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) is one of the materials used to strengthen steel structures. Most studies on strengthening steel structures have been done on steel beams and steel columns. No independent study, to the researcher's knowledge, has studied the effect of CFRP strengthening on steel beam-columns, and it seems that there is a lack of understanding on behavior of CFRP strengthening on steel beam-columns. However, this study explored the use of adhesively bonded CFRP flexible sheets on retrofitting square hollow section (SHS) steel beam-columns, using numerical investigations. Finite Element Method (FEM) was employed for modeling. To determine the ultimate load of SHS steel beam-columns, ten specimens, eight of which were strengthened with the different coverage length and with one and two CFRP layers, with two types of section (Type A and B) were analyzed. ANSYS was used to analyze the SHS steel beam-columns. The results showed that the CFRP composite had no similar effect on the slender and stocky SHS steel beam-columns. The results also showed that the coverage length, the number of layers, and the location of CFRP composites were effective in increasing the ultimate load of the SHS steel beam-columns.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.157-174
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• 2020

The guided wave technique is commonly used in structural health monitoring as the guided waves can propagate far in the structures without much energy loss. The guided waves are conventionally generated by the surface-mounted piezoelectric wafer active sensor (PWAS). However, there is still lack of understanding of the wave propagation in layered structures, especially in structures made of anisotropic materials such as carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. In this paper, the Rayleigh-Lamb wave strain tuning curves in a PWAS-mounted unidirectional CFRP plate are analytically derived using the normal mode expansion (NME) method. The excitation frequency spectrum is then multiplied by the tuning curves to calculate the frequency response spectrum. The corresponding time domain responses are obtained through the inverse Fourier transform. The theoretical calculations are validated through finite element analysis and an experimental study. The PWAS responses under the free, debonded and bonded CFRP conditions are investigated and compared. The results demonstrate that the amplitude and travelling time of wave packet can be used to evaluate the CFRP bonding conditions. The method can work on a baseline-free manner.

• Composites Research
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.231-235
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• 2014

Autoclave processing has a good quality of product, but manufacturing cost is expansive. After curing of composite, the unwanted deformation and distortion increase the manufacturing cost by redesign of tool parts. Therefore, manufacturing cost down is a big issue in processing level. For the reduction of tool costs, it is important to investigate the effects of tool materials and tool surface conditions. In this paper, we organized user subroutine in ABAQUS to consider the thermal effects of part and tool, and the results are compared with commercial code, COMPRO. And this paper suggests reference point for the selection of tool materials to reduce manufacturing costs.

• Advanced Composite Materials
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.151-166
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• 2007

High-cycle fatigue characteristics of quasi-isotropic carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates [-45/0/45/90]s up to $10^8$ cycles were investigated. To assess the fatigue behavior in the high-cycle region, fatigue tests were conducted at a frequency of 100 Hz, since it is difficult to investigate the fatigue characteristics in high-cycle at 5 Hz. Then, the damage behavior of the specimen was observed with a microscope, soft X-ray photography and a 3D ultrasonic inspection system. In this study, to evaluate quantitative characteristics of both transverse crack propagation and delamination growth in the high-cycle region, the energy release rate associated with damage growth in the width direction was calculated. Transverse crack propagation and delamination growth in the width direction were evaluated based on a modified Paris law approach. The results revealed that transverse crack propagation delayed under the test conditions of less than ${\sigma}_{max}/{\sigma}_b$ = 0.3 of the applied stress level.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.465-481
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• 2018

The use of external carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates is one of the most effective techniques existing for the confinement of circular concrete specimens. Currently, several researches have been made to develop models for predicting the ultimate conditions of this type of confinement. As most of the major existing models were developed based on limited experimental database. This paper presents the development of new confinement ultimate conditions, strength and strain models, for concrete cylinders confined with CFRP composites based on a statistical analysis of a large existing experimental database of 310 cylindrical concrete specimens wrapped with CFRP. The database is used to evaluate the performance of the proposed and major existing strength and strain models. Based on the two different statistical indices, the coefficient of determination ($R^2$) and the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), the two proposed confinement ultimate conditions presents a good performance compared to the major existing models except the models of Lam and Teng (2003) and Youssef et al. (2007) which have relatively similar performance to the proposed models.

• Composites Research
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.404-411
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• 2018

As the autoclave process progresses in a given cure cycle, residual stress in the composite product is induced by cure shrinkage of the resin. As a result, It generates the thermal deformation such as spring-in and warpage, and the inaccuracy of the final product increases. It is important to predict thermal deformation in aerospace parts which require precise fabrication. The research has been done on predicting and grasping curing process of composite material. In this study, the cure mechanism of composite materials according to the process is predicted through finite element analysis, and the effect of cure shrinkage on thermal deformation generated by the process is analyzed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.431-444
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• 2022

The unique thermomechanical properties of shape memory alloys (SMAs) make it a versatile material for strengthening and repairing structures. In particular, several research studies have already demonstrated the effectiveness of using the heat activated shape memory effect of nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) based SMAs to actively confine concrete members. Despite the proven effectiveness and wide commercial availability of Ni-Ti SMAs, however, their high cost remains a major obstacle for applications in real structural engineering projects. In this study, the shape memory effect of a new, much more economical iron-based SMA (Fe-SMA) is characterized and the compressive behavior of concrete confined with Fe-SMA strips is investigated. Tests showed the Fe-SMA strips used in this study are capable of developing high levels of recovery stress and can be easily formed into hoops to provide effective active and passive confining pressure to concrete members. Compared to concrete cylinders confined with conventional carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites, Fe-SMA confinement yielded significantly higher compressive deformation capacity and residual strength. Overall, the compressive behavior of Fe-SMA confined concrete was comparable to that of Ni-Ti SMA confined concrete. This study clearly shows the potential for Fe-SMA as a robust and cost-effective strengthening solution for concrete structures and opens possibilities for more practical applications.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.535-544
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• 2016

This paper aims at examining the effects of sustained load and elevated temperature on the time-dependent deformation of a carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets bonded to concrete as well as the pull-off strength of single-lap shear specimens after the sustained loading period using digital images. Elevated temperature during the sustained loading period resulted in increased slip of the CFRP composites, whereas increased curing time of the polymer resin prior to the sustained loading period resulted in reduced slip. Pull-off tests conducted after sustained loading period showed that the presence of sustained load resulted in increased pull-off strength and interfacial fracture energy. This beneficial effect decreased with increased creep duration. Based on analysis of digital images, results on strain distributions and fracture surfaces indicated that stress relaxation of the epoxy occurred in the 30 mm closest to the loaded end of the CFRP composites during sustained loading, which increased the pull-off strength provided the failure locus remained mostly in the concrete. For longer sustained loading duration, the failure mode of concrete-CFRP bond region can change from a cohesive failure in the concrete to an interfacial failure along the concrete/epoxy interface, which diminished part of the strength increase due to the stress relaxation of the adhesive.