Low Strain Rate Failure of Compliant Flexures

Abstract

This project investigates the time-dependent properties of thin carbon fiber composite flexures when they are held in a folded (stowed) configuration for long periods of time. The resulting behavior is shown to be complex and time dependent in an experimental program to determine the full field strain and evolution of microstructural damage. The program uses a developed experimental rig which uses digital image correlation to measure the strain behavior over long time durations. Possible numerical analyses to capture the observed responses are considered. It is concluded that an understanding of the microstructural and probabilistic behavior is crucial to the understanding of long term flexure properties.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2011
Accession Number
ADA550598

Entities

People

  • Matthew J. Santer

Organizations

  • Imperial College London

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Carbon Fibers
  • Composite Materials
  • Digital Images
  • Elastic Properties
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Fibers
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Images
  • Laminates
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Mechanics
  • Numerical Analysis
  • Strain Rate
  • Two Dimensional

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering/Mechanics of Materials.