ALBERT

Description: In this study, a direct comparison of the compression-after-impact (CAI) strength of impact-damaged, hat-stiffened and honeycomb sandwich structure for launch vehicle use was made. The specimens used consisted of small substructure designed to carry a line load of approx..3,000 lb/in. Damage was inflicted upon the specimens via drop weight impact. Infrared thermography was used to examine the extent of planar damage in the specimens. The specimens were prepared for compression testing to obtain residual compression strength versus damage severity curves. Results show that when weight of the structure is factored in, both types of structure had about the same CAI strength for a given damage level. The main difference was that the hat-stiffened specimens exhibited a multiphase failure whereas the honeycomb sandwich structure failed catastrophically.

Description: The amount of impact energy used to damage a composite laminate is a critical parameter when assessing residual strength properties. The compression after impact (CAI) strength of impacted laminates is dependent upon how thick the laminate is and this has traditionally been accounted for by normalizing (dividing) the impact energy by the laminate's thickness. However, when comparing CAI strength values for a given lay-up sequence and fiber/resin system, dividing the impact energy by the specimen thickness has been noted by the author to give higher CAI strength values for thicker laminates. A study was thus undertaken to assess the comparability of CAI strength data by normalizing the impact energy by the specimen thickness raised to a power to account for the higher strength of thicker laminates. One set of data from the literature and two generated in this study were analyzed by dividing the impact energy by the specimen thickness to the 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5 powers. Results show that as laminate thickness and damage severity decreased, the value which the laminate thickness needs to be raised to in order to yield more comparable CAI data increases.

Description: Since composite laminates are beginning to be identified for use in reusable launch vehicle propulsion systems, a task was undertaken to assess the feasibility of making cryogenic feedlines with integral flanges from polymer matrix composite materials. An additional level of complexity was added by having the feedlines be elbow shaped. Four materials, each with a unique manufacturing method, were chosen for this program. Feedlines were to be made by hand layup (HLU) with standard autoclave cure, HLU with electron beam cure, solvent-assisted resin transfer molding (SARTM), and thermoplastic tape laying (TTL). A test matrix of fill and drain cycles with both liquid nitrogen and liquid helium, along with a heat up to 250 F, was planned for each of the feedlines. A pressurization to failure was performed on any feedlines that passed the cryogenic cycling testing. A damage tolerance subtask was also undertaken in this study. The effects of foreign object impact to the materials used was assessed by cross-sectional examination and by permeability after impact testing. At the end of the program, the manufacture of the electron beam-cured feedlines never came to fruition. All of the TTL feedlines leaked heavily before any cryogenic testing, all of the SARTM feedlines leaked heavily after one cryogenic cycle. Thus, only the HLU with autoclave cure feedlines underwent the complete test matrix. They passed the cyclic testing and were pressurized to failure.

Description: This study was undertaken as a follow-on to a previous study that examined the effect of hole quality in the bearing strength of carbon fiber laminates. After the author of that previous study had established that hole quality had little effect on the ultimate bearing strength for carbon fiber laminates, the question was raised as to the effects of impact damage next to a hole on the bearing strength of that hole. While this is an unlikely scenario, it is still possible that this may occur on a launch vehicle structure and thus warranted study. After a literature review, results of a few studies on the hole-impact interaction with respect to resulting damage for carbon fiber laminates were found, but none that specifically addressed the resulting bearing strength. In reference 2, it was found that the holes and impact could interact to develop matrix splits. However, the lay-ups used in this study consisted of clumped plies [04/904]S, which are much more prone to matrix splitting than a laminate that would actually be used in practice (such as a lay-up of [0/90]4S). This study also focused on the analytical aspects of the problem rather than the experimental results. Reference 3 also used [04/904]S laminates (clumped plies) and examined the damage morphology, determining that, as the impact damage neared the hole, the damage zone became more asymmetrical. The effect this would have on bearing strength was not addressed. The experimental work presented in this study was to develop empirical data relating holeimpact damage effects on the resulting bearing strength of a commonly used (quasi-isotropic) lay-up of carbon fiber laminate. The emphasis was not on the morphology of the resulting damage, as it was in references 2 and 3, but rather on the practical aspects of how this damage affected the bearing strength and how this compared to the companion study1 on the effect of hole quality on the bearing strength of the laminate.

Description: Since composite laminates are beginning to be identified for use in reusable launch vehicle propulsion systems, an understanding of their permeance is needed. A foreign object impact event can cause a localized area of permeability (leakage) in a polymer matrix composite, and it is the aim of this study to assess a method of quantifying permeability-after-impact results. A simple test apparatus is presented, and variables that could affect the measured values of permeability-after-impact were assessed. Once it was determined that valid numbers were being measured, a fiber/resin system was impacted at various impact levels and the resulting permeability measured, first with a leak check solution (qualitative) then using the new apparatus (quantitative). The results showed that as the impact level increased, so did the measured leakage. As the pressure to the specimen was increased, the leak rate was seen to increase in a nonlinear fashion for almost all the specimens tested.

Description: A static test method for modeling low-velocity foreign object impact events to composites would prove to be very beneficial to researchers since much more data can be obtained from a static test than from an impact test. In order to examine if this is feasible, a series of static indentation and low-velocity impact tests were carried out and compared. Square specimens of many sizes and thicknesses were utilized to cover the array of types of low velocity impact events. Laminates with a pi/4 stacking sequence were employed since this is by far the most common type of engineering laminate. Three distinct flexural rigidities -under two different boundary conditions were tested in order to obtain damage ranging from that due to large deflection to contact stresses and levels in-between to examine if the static indentation-impact comparisons are valid under the spectrum of damage modes that can be experienced. Comparisons between static indentation and low-velocity impact tests were based on the maximum applied transverse load. The dependent parameters examined included dent depth, back surface crack length, delamination area, and to a limited extent, load-deflection behavior. Results showed that no distinct differences could be seen between the static indentation tests and the low-velocity impact tests, indicating that static indentation can be used to represent a low-velocity impact event.

Description: This study examines two test methods to evaluate the peel toughness of the skin to core debond of sandwich panels. The methods tested were the climbing drum (CD) peel test and the double cantilever beam (DCB) test. While the CD peel test is only intended for qualitative measurements, it is shown in this study that qualitative measurements can be performed and compare well with DCB test data. It is also shown that artificially stiffening the facesheets of a DCB specimen can cause the test to behave more like a flatwise tensile test than a peel test.

Description: As part of NASAs focused technology programs for future reusable launch vehicles, a task is underway to study the feasibility of using the polymer matrix composite feedlines instead of metal ones on propulsion systems. This is desirable to reduce weight and manufacturing costs. The task consists of comparing several prototype composite feedlines made by various methods. These methods are electron-beam curing, standard hand lay-up and autoclave cure, solvent assisted resin transfer molding, and thermoplastic tape laying. One of the critical technology drivers for composite components is resistance to foreign objects damage. This paper presents results of an experimental study of the damage resistance of the candidate materials that the prototype feedlines are manufactured from. The materials examined all have a 5-harness weave of IM7 as the fiber constituent (except for the thermoplastic, which is unidirectional tape laid up in a bidirectional configuration). The resin tested were 977-6, PR 520, SE-SA-1, RS-E3 (e-beam curable), Cycom 823 and PEEK. The results showed that the 977-6 and PEEK were the most damage resistant in all tested cases.

Description: Reducing risk for utilizing honeycomb sandwich structure for the Space Launch System payload adapter fitting includes determining what parameters need to be tested for damage tolerance to ensure a safe structure. Specimen size and boundary conditions are the most practical parameters to use in damage tolerance inspection. The effect of impact over core splices and foreign object debris between the facesheet and core is assessed. Effects of enhanced damage tolerance by applying an outer layer of carbon fiber woven cloth is examined. A simple repair technique for barely visible impact damage that restores all compression strength is presented.

Description: This study measured the compression after impact strength of IM7 carbon fiber laminates made from epoxy resins with various mode I and mode II toughness values to observe the effects of these toughness values on the resistance to damage formation and subsequent residual compression strength-carrying capabilities. Both monolithic laminates and sandwich structure were evaluated. A total of seven different epoxy resin systems were used ranging in approximate GI values of 245-665 J/sq m and approximate GII values of 840-2275 J/sq m. The results for resistance to impact damage formation showed that there was a direct correlation between GII and the planar size of damage, as measured by thermography. Subsequent residual compression strength testing suggested that GI had no influence on the measured values and most of the difference in compression strength was directly related to the size of damage. Thus, delamination growth assumed as an opening type of failure mechanism does not appear to be responsible for loss of compression strength in the specimens examined in this study.