Proceedings of the 2012 International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Istanbul, Turkey, July 3 6, 2012

Reliability Aspects in Z-Pinned Laminated Composites

S. R. Soni, M. Al-Romaihi, J. R. Wirthlin, and A. B. Badiru Air Force Institute of Technology Wright Patterson AFB, OH 45432, USA Stephen Clay AFRL/RB, Wright Patterson AFB OH 45433, USA Abstract
Composites are finding extensive use in aerospace, sports, auto and medical industries. There are various benefits of using these materials if used with complete understanding of their performance capabilities. One of the most feared mode of failure in composites is delamination. Composites Affordability Initiative by US Air Force has identified joining and co-curing of composites as an important problem area of interest. Delamination is common in such composites and z-pinning provides through-the-thickness reinforcements, to improve structural damage tolerance. Being a relatively new application for joint design, estimating the reliability of z-pinned composite components is quite a complex process and requires knowledge of the uncertainties that occur at various scales. Numerous tests are conducted using different z-fiber diameters and loading conditions to determine the fatigue life of composite laminates. Appropriate models are used to predict the reliability of tested composites. Commonly used laminate, quasi isotropic, has been considered with and/or without z-pins. The material used was IM7/977-3 prepreg. A set of specimens has been tested to understand the effect of cyclic loading on the response of laminates with/without zpins. Other parameters considered are stress risers, % ultimate loads, cycle dependent damage and z-pin diameter and volume fraction. All these parameters influence the lifecycle cost of the system.