Fabric Forming: how it affects design and processing, and how simulation can address this

One unique benefit that composite materials have is the ability to be formed into complex geometries that other materials struggle with. Forming fabric into these geometries is key to producing these geometries.

If the wrong fabric is used for a particular geometry and/or process it can lead to defects, such as severe fibre distortion, porosity, reduced fibre volume fraction, and undesirable part thicknesses. In a worst-case scenario, it could lead to scrapping tooling and materials, and going back to the beginning of the design/material selection process.

In this webinar, we will discuss how forming fibre material into a shape effects part design, material selection, and processing. We will introduce forming testing and simulation and discuss how it can be used in common applications with attention to fabric wrinkling defects.

This presentation is part of the ongoing CKN webinar series. Content discussed in the webinar is linked to the Knowledge in Practice Centre, allowing users to access this and other content in a consistent and coherent manner.

Presenters: Abbas Milani and Casey Keulen

This webinar is co-hosted by Composites Knowledge Network (CKN) and SAMPE Canada