Design & Tooling
Aircraft simulation gets composites aware
Rapid software evolution enables faster, better virtual solutions to complex composite design problems.
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Mechanical wedge grips for tensile testing
In tensile testing, wedge grips are used on both ends of the specimen to position the specimen in the test frame.
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Finite element analysis garners performance gains for yacht component
In the ongoing quest to reduce weight in high-performance sailing yachts, no part goes unexamined or untouched.
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Prototyping and manufacturing by additive fabrication
 Additive fabrication (AF) technology, such as laser sintering (LS) and fused deposition modeling (FDM), encompasses a wide range of applications. The earliest was rapid prototyping to support design, concept modeling, fit/function testing, and pattern making without the need to construct expensive tooling for prototypes and test articles. Manufacturers also are using AF to produce jigs, fixtures, drill guides, and other manufacturing and assembly tools.
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Inside Analysis: Simulating VARTM for better infusion
A resin flow simulation tool is helping to optimize liquid molding of aerospace parts.
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Single-fastener, double-shear laminate bearing strength by tensile testing
Dr. Don Adams (Wyoming Test Fixtures Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah) discusses a laminate bearing strength test using double-shear loading of a single fastener.
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Compression after impact testing
During the late 1960s and most of the 1970s, the composites industry was absorbing the impact of what was then the recent introduction of carbon fiber. The resulting composites exhibited both high strength-to-weight and high stiffness-to-weight ratios. And while it was known that composites reinforced with this new
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The modified D695 compression test method
Dr. Don Adams discusses the evolution of the ASTM D 695 compression test method, the predecessor of the D 6641 method now in wide use.
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Composites test method globalization and harmonization
In my previous column, I discussed the need for standardization of test methods and the progress that has been made in recent years (see “Related Content,” at left). However, we know from that column, and many preceding it, that when we attempt to determine material properties, there is often more than one
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Why standardize composites test protocols?
Every column I write for HPC eventually refers to “standard” test methods. But why are standards written? What groups promote these standards, and who actually writes them? Most importantly, why do the rest of us need to follow their standards, and what if we don’t? To answer the first question, we must step back into
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