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Stebner, Aaron P.

Publications and source records attributed to Stebner, Aaron P..

11 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Empirical Characterization and Modeling of Cohesive – to – Adhesive Shear Fracture Mode Transition due to Increased Adhesive Layer Thicknesses of Fiber Reinforced Composite Single – Lap Joints

Here, to ensure a strong adhesive bond, most standards and adhesive manufacturers specify a maximum adhesive gap of 1 mm when bonding fiber reinforced composite structures. In manufacturing large components, such as joining two halves of wind turbine blades, meeting this gap tolerance specification is impractical; gaps larger than 10 mm are common in large adhesively bonded composite structures using state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques. Currently, there is a lack of fundamental understanding of the failure mechanics of adhesive gaps larger than 3 mm. To create such understanding, glass fiber - acrylic thermoplastic composite panels bonded using different epoxy adhesives within single-lap joint samples with adhesive thicknesses of 0.1 mm, 0.3 mm, 1 mm, 3 mm, 5 mm, and 10 mm were sheared to failure. A transition from cohesive to adhesive failure was observed to occur about 1 mm to 3 mm joint thicknesses. Plotting the shear stress normalized by the ratio of the joint width to thickness as a function of the joint thickness normalized by the joint length is shown to result in the ability to fit simple empirically derived models of the cohesive-to-adhesive failure transition, regardless of the adhesive. Furthermore, using these normalized variables, all the observed cohesively failed specimens collapse to a single master curve, as do the adhesively failed specimens.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Direct measurement of the effective properties of an additively manufactured titanium octet truss unit cell using high energy X-ray diffraction

Additively manufactured lattice structures offer a high specific strength-to-density ratio in comparison to conventional, fully dense parts. The small feature size and intricate geometry of lattice structures make it challenging to directly characterize their mechanical properties. This study presents direct measurement of the elastic mechanical properties of an additively manufactured titanium alloy octet truss unit cell. Strut stress and strain were measured using high-energy X-ray diffraction during quasi-static compressive loading. The crystallographic stress-strain relationship was converted into the stress-strain relationship of the octet truss lattice unit cell using the known symmetry of the struts. The sample studied herein was best fit by an orthorhombic linear elastic stress-strain relationship. In conclusion, this technique shows promise for studying additively manufactured lattice structures at length scales not previously reported.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Infusible Thermoplastic Composites for Wind Turbine Blade Manufacturing: Fatigue Life of Thermoplastic Laminates under Ambient and Low-Temperature Conditions

Traditionally, thermoset resins such as polyesters (PE) and epoxies are used as the polymer matrix for construction of wind turbine blades. However, concern about their end-of-life treatment garners interest to use thermoplastics for increased recyclability. However, the high viscosity of molten thermoplastics inhibits their use in manufacturing wind turbine blades with injection or compression molding. A recently developed, infusible, reactive thermoplastic resin overcomes this technological barrier. Toward verifying that this recyclable resin is suitable for use in wind turbine blades, a dataset of R?=?0.1 and R?=?10 fatigue data for glass fiber-reinforced acrylic composites is provided and equal fatigue life to industry standard epoxy and unsaturated PE resin systems is demonstrated. Specifically, R?=?0.1 fatigue data for acrylic composites at room temperature and -30?degrees C for verification of low-temperature performance are tabulated. To elucidate failure mechanisms, in situ mechanical testing with X-ray computed tomography demonstrates that damage accumulation occurs by crack propagation along the fiber-matrix interface under cyclic loading. Infrared (IR) thermography predicts failure points in composites specimens with porosity defects introduced from nonideal manufacturing processes. Furthermore, these manufacturing defects are shown to compromise the fatigue life of the acrylic laminates by an order of magnitude.

effect of defects↗
DOE OSTI2022

The roles of kinematic constraint and diffusion in non-equilibrium solid state phase transformations of Ti-6Al-4V

A solid state phase transformation of Ti-6Al-4V was studied using high speed in situ x-ray diffraction measurements made during rapid cooling of a cold metal transfer arc weld bead deposited onto a water cooled substrate. Analysis of body centered cubic (BCC) and hexagonal close packed (HCP) lattices revealed an abrupt, nonlinear shift in the lattice parameters of both phases just after the HCP phase had nucleated. Postmortem transmission electron microscopy confirmed that V diffusion was mostly suppressed during cooling. Together, these results indicate that at this cooling rate of approximately 10 4 K/s, which is representative of cooling rates of many additive manufacturing and welding processes, kinematic coherency of the BCC–HCP interfaces gives rise to the anomalous lattice expansion and contraction behaviors of both phases during the initial nucleation and growth stages of (mostly) martensitic transformation from BCC to HCP; the role of diffusion in such lattice anomalies is shown to be minimal.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Closing the Loop on Automotive Carbon Fiber Prepreg Manufacturing Scrap

The project demonstrated how to “close the loop” on carbon fiber by integrating industrial carbon fiber scrap into new functional components in an automotive lightweighting application. The project serves as a validation of discontinuous recycled carbon fiber in a commercial context, while generating comprehensive material data throughout the production chain.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

Closing the Loop on Automotive Carbon Fiber Prepreg Manufacturing Scrap

The project demonstrated how to “close the loop” on carbon fiber by integrating industrial carbon fiber scrap into new functional components in an automotive lightweighting application. The project serves as a validation of discontinuous recycled carbon fiber in a commercial context, while generating comprehensive material data throughout the production chain. To this end, the project exhibited increasing complexity as material evaluation progressed from benchtop to commercial scale through full-scale part production, with key material properties thoroughly characterized throughout the process. Of particular focus was the form of the fiber that was fed into compounding, as recycled fiber has historically been problematic to feed at commercial-scale. Carbon fiber is energy-intensive to manufacture, so reuse of existing fiber material can reduce costs and increase sustainability. Additionally, by integrating recovered short fiber into a thermoplastic, regrind processes can be used to provide feedstock for later generations of product. While regrind plastics are not “infinitely recyclable”, reusing the manufacturing scrap over several generations of products can greatly increase material sustainability and lower the fractional embodied energy of each successive product. As such, this project supports the IACMI technical goals of (1) 25% lower carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) cost, (2) 50% reduction in CFRP embodied energy, and (3) 80% composite recyclability into useful products. The initial stage of the project involved down selecting surface treatment (sizing) chemistries. Sizing evaluations were performed on Vartega’s chemically recycled intermediate modulus fiber along with standard modulus dry scrap which was oversized with sizing provided by Michelman. More dramatic improvements from sizing were found on the standard rather than the intermediate modulus fibers. The strength of the chemically recycled individual fibers were evaluated by Michelman and ORNL through single fiber testing and found to be comparable to similarly evaluated virgin fibers. UDRI’s mechanical testing on injection molded test specimens identified similar mechanical properties and fiber distribution relative to benchmark specimens. Additional surface chemistry tests and visualizations were performed by the Colorado School of Mines to confirm close conformance between the benchmark and recycled-fiber specimens. As the mechanical test results exceeded the 80% threshold established as the go/no-go(GNG), the project scale was increased to use commercial-scale equipment that would both better characterize the manufacturing utility of the target product format and allow qualitative assessment of a complex commercial part. An upscaled compounding evaluation was performed with a 27 mm twin-screw compounding extruding using oversized standard modulus fibers that were formatted to improve bulk solids transfer. The project team anticipated that milestone mechanical benchmarks could be achieved given the favorable performance of the sized standard modulus material identified in the initial micro-compounding trials. While the mechanical performance did meet the milestone target for that phase of the project, mechanical properties for this standard modulus-based compound were still less than those of the Ford specification. To compare the performance, the project team oversized intermediate modulus dry fibers and compounded them with the project resin at BASF using a 40 mm compounder. Test specimen mechanical performance exceeded the targets laid out in both the project milestone and the Ford specification. A series of prototype parts were successfully molded, albeit with instances of short shot components due to the high thermal conductivity of the carbon fiber compared to glass fiber for which the prototype tool was designed for. The project demonstrated that recycled carbon fiber is a viable option in fiber reinforced compound, providing greatly increased strength and modulus for applications that require them. The “agglomerated” format that facilitated effective bulk solids transfer of recovered fiber showed promise for industrial application.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Substitution of virgin carbon fiber with low-cost recycled fiber in automotive grade injection molding polyamide 66 for equivalent composite mechanical performance with improved sustainability

Recycled carbon fiber has historically proven challenging to integrate into composite manufacturing due in no small part to the low-density, randomly oriented, discontinuous fiber format that results from typical recycling. Discontinuous fiber requires the use of alternative technologies than those traditionally applied to continuous fiber (e.g., hand lay-up, winding). Extrusion compounding is one such applicable technology, but material transfer into the system requires alternative feeding equipment or the use of an altered procedure as trialed in this research. In this study, an injection molding compound for automotive applications was prepared with recycled carbon fiber and compared against an existing commercial compound. Input fibers and molded compound were evaluated for mechanical performance, while relevant variables such as compounded fiber alignment and aspect ratio were compared to the existing baseline material to confirm a like-for-like composite material structure. Overall, analysis indicates that recycled fiber performs similarly to virgin fiber reinforcement, demonstrating that recycled fiber may be a viable drop-in replacement for short-fiber discontinuous applications.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS2016

Engineering Design Tools for Shape Memory Alloy Actuators: CASMART Collaborative Best Practices and Case Studies

The primary goal of the Consortium for the Advancement of Shape Memory Alloy Research and Technology (CASMART) is to enable the design of revolutionary applications based on shape memory alloy (SMA) technology. In order to help realize this goal and reduce the development time and required experience for the fabrication of SMA actuation systems, several modeling tools have been developed for common actuator types and are discussed herein along with case studies, which highlight the capabilities and limitations of these tools. Due to their ability to sustain high stresses and recover large deformations, SMAs have many potential applications as reliable, lightweight, solid-state actuators. Their advantage over classical actuators can also be further improved when the actuator geometry is modified to fit the specific application. In this paper, three common actuator designs are studied: wires, which are lightweight, low-profile, and easily implemented; springs, which offer actuation strokes upwards of 200 at reduced mechanical loads; and torque tubes, which can provide large actuation forces in small volumes and develop a repeatable zero-load actuation response (known as the two-way shape memory effect). The modeling frameworks, which have been implemented in the design tools, are developed for each of these frequently used SMA actuator types. In order to demonstrate the versatility and flexibility of the presented design tools, as well as validate their modeling framework, several design challenges were completed. These case studies include the design and development of an active hinge for the deployment of a solar array or foldable space structure, an adaptive solar array deployment and positioning system, a passive air temperature controller for regulation flow temperatures inside of a jet engine, and a redesign of the Corvette active hatch, which allows for pressure equalization of the car interior. For each of the presented case studies, a prototype or proof-of-concept was fabricated and the experimental results and lessons learned are discussed. This analysis presents a collection of CASMART collaborative best practices in order to allow readers to utilize the available design tools and understand their modeling principles. These design tools, which are based on engineering models, can provide first-order optimal designs and are a basic and efficient method for either demonstrating design feasibility or refining design parameters. Although the design and integration of an SMA-based actuation system always requires application- and environment-specific engineering considerations, common modeling tools can significantly reduce the investment required for actuation system development and provide valuable engineering insight.

Design tools↗