TY - JOUR A1 - Kraus, David A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Transverse damage in glass fiber reinforced polymer under thermo-mechanical loading N2 - In this study, the thermomechanical damage behavior of a glass fiber reinforced polymer material is investigated. The coefficients of thermal expansion of the composite as well as the matrix are measured in a wide temperature range. Quasi-static experiments with neat resin, unidirectional and multidirectional laminates are performed as well as fatigue experiments in a temperature range from 213 K to 343 K. This study focusses on the matrix damage due to fiber-parallel loading. A correlation between matrix effort, the dilatational strain energy of the matrix and the damage state of the specimen is demonstrated. It is shown that a fatigue life assessment can be performed with the aid of a temperature-independent master fatigue curve. KW - Composite KW - Glass fiber reinforced polymer KW - Thermo-mechanics KW - Fatigue KW - Damage KW - Temperature PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-527462 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomc.2021.100147 SN - 2666-6820 VL - 5 SP - 100147 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-52746 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Thermo-mechanical fatigue of glass fiber reinforced polymer N2 - Glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) materials in practical applications have to endure cyclic mechanical loading in a wide temperature range (e.g. aircraft applications, automotive, wind turbine blades). In this study the static strength and fatigue behavior of GFRP was investigated in a temperature range from 213 K to 343 K. Therefor the coefficients of thermal expansion of the composite as well as the matrix are measured in this temperature interval. The inverse laminate theory was extended and used to calculate the inter fiber-failure effort for a virtual UD-layer according to the layer wise strength approach. The experimentally determined results are compared with the micro-mechanical model according to Krimmer, which has been enhanced to include the effect of temperature and fiber-perpendicular failure modes. A correlation between matrix effort, the dilatational strain energy of the matrix and the damage state of the specimen is demonstrated. It is shown that a fatigue life assessment can be performed with the aid of a temperature-independent master fatigue curve, as it was similar done for the fatigue behavior of CFRP and GFRP to very high load cycles at room temperature. T2 - ICFC8 - The 8th International Conference on the Fatigue of Composites CY - Online meeting DA - 23.06.2021 KW - Glass fibre reinforced plastics KW - Fatigue KW - Thermo-mechanical-loading PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-52910 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Scarf-joint repairs under fatigue loading investigated for sandwich shell applications N2 - Wind turbine rotor blades are produced as aerodynamic, three-dimensionally formed sandwich shell structures using mainly glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP). The GFRP used today have the potential to withstand the harsh operating conditions of rotor blades over the projected service life of 20 years. Premature damages that occur can be traced primarily back to design and/or manufacturing imperfections, as well as unusually high load scenarios (for instance lightning strikes, or strong winds combined with system control errors). Therefore, rotor blades have to be repaired several times (on average 2-3 times) during their projected service life. Approximately 70% of these are repairs of small- to medium-sized sandwich shells, carried out by technicians directly accessing the blade by suspended roping at the wind turbine location. The goal is to execute repairs that will last over the remaining service life, i.e. be sustainable. Within the framework of a research project carried out at BAM, Division 5.3 Polymer Matrix Composites, Department 5 for Materials Engineering, not only was the geometric shape (round vs. square in relation to the top view) varied, but also the layup of the scarf repair structure, variables that have not been studied systematically to-date. Sub-component scale sandwich shell specimens with representative repairs were used in this work in addition to coupon-scale specimens that are more commonly seen in literature. These sub-component shell specimens were tested using a unique shell test bench under loading conditions representative of wind turbine blade shell operating conditions with respect to fatigue strength. Using non-destructive testing methods (field strain measurement and thermography), damage development and distribution was monitored and analyzed in-situ. As a result, a concept was developed in which the repaired areas showed at least equivalent if not higher fatigue strength than the reference shells that were not repaired. T2 - ICFC9 - The 9th International Conference on the Fatigue of Composites CY - Vicenza, Italy DA - 21.06.2023 KW - Repair of sandwich shell structures KW - Non-destructive testing KW - Wind turbine blades PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57929 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ghafafian, Carineh A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Prolonging structural integrity—Fatigue of scarf repairs for wind turbine blade shell applications N2 - The influence of scarf repair variables on the mechanical properties of glass fiber reinforced polymer sandwich structures is examined for the application of wind turbine blade shell repairs. Reference shell specimens are tested under fully-reversed cyclic loading to understand the fatigue behavior of the sub-component structure within a range of in-service loads, to which shell specimens with a scarf joint repair are compared. A fatiguesuperior repair material is shown to improve the fatigue behavior of the repaired structures compared to the reference specimens. In separating layup and geometry, damage development is examined on the subcomponent scale for a structural understanding of a scarf repair using in-situ digital image correlation-based strain field measurements as well as passive thermography. Within scarf repair variables, the geometry is shown to play a larger role than layup in the fatigue performance of the repaired structure. KW - Polymer–matrix composites KW - Fatigue KW - Joints/joining PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2022.107419 SN - 1359-835X VL - 167 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-56942 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rodricks, Carol Winnifred A1 - Prockat, Annabell A1 - Kalinka, Gerhard A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Novel Recyclable Hierarchical Carbon Fiber/Epoxy Composites: Preserving Fiber Length and Orientation Using Elium N2 - Current recycling methods for polymer matrix composites produce short, unoriented carbon fibers, limiting their use to intermediate‐strength applications. A method is therefore needed to recycle fibers while preserving their original length and orientation, enabling a circular economy for carbon fiber composites. This study proposes a novel hierarchical composite designed to retain fiber length and orientation during recycling. Virgin carbon fibers are encased in an insoluble epoxy matrix to form tapes that act as the primary units of the structure. The primary tape matrix shields the fibers from chemical degradation while preserving their alignment throughout recycling. The tapes are then embedded in a secondary recyclable matrix, Elium, a thermoplastic polymer soluble in acetone with mechanical properties comparable to epoxy. The composite is recycled by dissolving the secondary Elium matrix in acetone and recovering the primary tape units with intact fiber length and orientation. The primary units can then be used to assemble new composites. In this study, hierarchical composite laminates underwent recycling up to three times. Their mechanical properties were assessed after each cycle. Laminates with an Elium secondary matrix retained 60%–90% of the mechanical performance of epoxy‐based laminates. Minimal degradation was observed between cycles, and fiber length, orientation, and volume fraction were fully preserved. Pushout tests confirmed that fibers in the primary tapes were sufficiently shielded during the recycling process. These results validate the feasibility of a hierarchical recyclable composite that combines recyclability with high mechanical performance, serving as a proof of concept and providing opportunities for future development. KW - Review KW - Interface KW - Micromechanics KW - Polymer matrix composites KW - Glass fibre reinforced composites PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-655276 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/pc.70869 SN - 0272-8397 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Wiley Periodicals LLC. AN - OPUS4-65527 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Portella, Pedro Dolabella A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Non-destructive characterization methods for polymer matrix composites N2 - The mechanical behavior of fiber reinforced composites with polymer matrix is governed by several mechanisms operating at different length scales. In this contribution we describe first non-destructive techniques which are adequate for the characterization of the fiber-matrix interphase at a microscopic level. In a second step we describe on a mesoscopic level the influence of manufacturing related elements on the mechanical properties of rotor blades for wind turbines. We concentrate on thermography, laminography and ultrasound in connection with mechanical testing systems. Finally we present methods for monitoring rotor blades by using embedded optical fibers. T2 - Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Nova Friburgo, RJ, Brasilien CY - Online meeting DA - 26.11.2020 KW - Polymer matrix composites PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-52043 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ghafafian, Carineh A1 - Trappe, Volker ED - Vassilopoulos, A. P. ED - Michaud, V. T1 - Fully-reversed fatigue behavior of scarf joint repairs for wind turbine blade shell applications N2 - To enable a quick and cost-effective return to service for wind turbine blades, localized repairs can be executed by technicians in the field. Scarf repairs, shown to be highly efficient with a smooth load transition across angled joint walls and a restored aerodynamic profile, are the focus of this work. The failure mechanisms of these structures were examined under quasi-static tensile and fully-reversed cyclic loading. While the scarf ratio was held constant at 1:50, the repair layup was varied between large-to-small and small-to-large. The effect of the presence of resin pockets and the fiber orientation mismatch between parent and repair material on the restored strength of BIAX ±45° glass fiber reinforced polymer scarf joint structures was studied. T2 - 20th European Conference on Composite Materials CY - Lausanne, Switzerland DA - 26.06.2022 KW - Fatigue KW - Scarf repairs KW - Glass fiber reinforced polymers PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-569646 UR - https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/298799 SN - 978-2-9701614-0-0 VL - Vol. 5 - Applications and structures SP - 195 EP - 201 PB - Composite Construction Laboratory (CCLab) CY - Lausanne AN - OPUS4-56964 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Azevedo do Nascimento, A. A1 - Trappe, Volker A1 - Diniz Melo, J. D. A1 - Cysne Barbosa, A. P. T1 - Fatigue behavior of self-healing glass fiber/epoxy composites with addition of poly (ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) (EMAA) N2 - The interest in repair technologies for polymer composites has increased significantly over the last decades, due to the growing use of these materials in structural applications. In this study, poly (ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) (EMAA) was used as self-healing agent to glass fiber/epoxy composite. Materials with EMAA contents of 2 wt% and 5 wt% were manufactured using Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) and the effects of the healing agent on the properties were investigated using tensile tests and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). Results show slight variation of properties, which was more pronounced as the content of EMAA increased. In addition, the healing efficiency was investigated through fatigue tests and the addition of higher content of EMAA increased the number of cycles to failure after the healing activation cycle. KW - Fatigue KW - Glass fiber-epoxy composites KW - Self-healing KW - Smart materials PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-569661 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2022.107863 SN - 0142-9418 VL - 117 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-56966 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ghafafian, Carineh A1 - Popiela, Bartosz A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Failure Mechanisms of GFRP Scarf Joints under Tensile Load N2 - A potential repair alternative to restoring the mechanical properties of lightweight fiberreinforced polymer (FRP) structures is to locally patch these areas with scarf joints. The effects of such repair methods on the structural integrity, however, are still largely unknown. In this paper, the mechanical property restoration, failure mechanism, and influence of fiber orientation mismatch between parent and repair materials of 1:50 scarf joints are studied on monolithic glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) specimens under tensile load. Two different parent orientations of [-45/+45]2S and [0/90]2S are exemplarily examined, and control specimens are taken as a baseline for the tensile strength and stiffness property recovery assessment. Using a layer-wise stress analysis with finite element simulations conducted with ANSYS Composite PrepPost to support the experimental investigation, the fiber orientation with respect to load direction is shown to affect the critical regions and thereby failure mechanism of the scarf joint specimens. KW - Scarf joint KW - Glass fiber reinforced polymers KW - Failure mechanisms PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-523952 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14071806 VL - 14 IS - 7 SP - 1806 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Switzerland AN - OPUS4-52395 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kupsch, Andreas A1 - Trappe, Volker A1 - Müller, Bernd R. A1 - Bruno, Giovanni T1 - Evolution of CFRP stress cracks observed by in situ X-ray refractive imaging N2 - Modern air-liners and wind turbine rotor blades are made up primarily of fiber reinforced plastics. Failure of these materials heavily impairs the serviceability and the operational safety. Consequently, knowledge of the failure behavior under static and cyclic loads is of great interest to estimate the operational strength and to compare the performance of different materials. Ideally, the damage evolution under operational load is determined with in situ non-destructive testing techniques. Here, we report in-situ synchrotron X-ray imaging of tensile stress induced cracks in carbon fiber reinforced plastics due to inter-fiber failure. An inhouse designed compact tensile testing machine with a load range up to 15 kN was integrated into the beamline. Since conventional radiographs do not reveal sufficient contrast to distinguish cracks due to inter-fiber failure and micro cracking from fiber bundles, the Diffraction Enhanced Imaging (DEI) technique is applied in order to separate primary and scattered (refracted) radiation by means of an analyzer crystal. This technique allows fast measurements over large fields-of-view and is ideal for in-situ investigations. Imaging and the tensile test are run at the highest possible frame rate (0.7 s-1 ) and the lowest possible strain rate (5.5∙10-4 s -1 ). For 0°/90° non-crimp fabrics, the first inter-fiber cracks occur at 380 MPa (strain 0.8 %). Prior to failure at about 760 MPa (strain 2.0 %), we observe the evolution of nearly equidistant (1 mm distance) cracks running across the entire sample in the fully damaged state. KW - X-ray refraction KW - Diffraction Enhanced Imaging KW - Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics KW - In situ tensile test KW - Crack evolution PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-515060 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/942/1/012035 SN - 1757-8981 SN - 1757-899X VL - 942 SP - 012035-1 EP - 012035-9 PB - IOP publishing CY - Bristol, UK AN - OPUS4-51506 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -