Contrast Enhancement of MicroCT Scans to Aid 3D Modelling of Carbon Fibre Fabric Composites
- PDF / 1,024,418 Bytes
- 16 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 32 Downloads / 157 Views
Contrast Enhancement of MicroCT Scans to Aid 3D Modelling of Carbon Fibre Fabric Composites Luke P. Djukic & Garth M. Pearce & Israel Herszberg & Michael K. Bannister & David H. Mollenhauer
Received: 16 March 2013 / Accepted: 8 May 2013 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
Abstract This paper presents a methodology for volume capture and rendering of plain weave and multi-layer fabric meso-architectures within a consolidated, cured laminate. Micro X-ray Computed Tomography (MicroCT) is an excellent tool for the nondestructive visualisation of material microstructures however the contrast between tows and resin is poor for carbon fibre composites. Firstly, this paper demonstrates techniques to improve the contrast of the microCT images by introducing higher density materials such as gold, iodine and glass into the fabric. Two approaches were demonstrated to be effective for enhancing the differentiation between the tows in the reconstructed microCT visualisations. Secondly, a method of generating three-dimensional volume models of woven composites using microCT scan data is discussed. The process of generating a model is explained from initial manufacture with the aid of an example plain weave fabric. These methods are to be used in the finite element modelling of three-dimensional fabric preforms in future work. Keywords MicroCT . Polymer matrix composites . Volume rendering . Microstructures
L. P. Djukic : I. Herszberg : M. K. Bannister Advanced Composite Structures Australia Pty Ltd, 1/320 Lorimer Street, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia L. P. Djukic (*) : I. Herszberg : M. K. Bannister Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures Ltd, 1/320 Lorimer Street, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia e-mail: [email protected] G. M. Pearce School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia D. H. Mollenhauer Air Force Research Laboratories, Dayton, OH 45433-7750, USA
Appl Compos Mater
1 Introduction 1.1 Modelling of Fabric Architecture Modelling the meso-architecture of composite fabrics is critical for understanding their mechanical performance. Accurate modelling of complex weaves allows for prediction of laminate stiffness and thermo-mechanical properties as well as the microscopic mechanisms involved in the degradation and failure of the composite. Modelling is especially important in the development of novel 3D preforms which sacrifice in-plane properties for improved through-thickness performance [1]. A number of approaches to modelling of woven structures have been used previously, an in-depth summary on which was provided by Bogdanovich [2]. Generally statistical idealisations of geometry have been used to predict deformation and failure at the microscale [3]. The key deficiency of idealised models is that they neglect the tow deformations that occur during consolidation and cure. In order to accurately predict the mechanical properties of such structures it is essential to determine the tow architecture and, in par
Data Loading...
