A water-soluble core material for manufacturing hollow composite sections

This paper presents the development of a low-cost water-soluble core material, which is suitable for producing hollow composite structures via high pressure moulding processes, such as compression moulding and resin transfer moulding. The bulk material of the core is sodium chloride (NaCl), which is...

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Main Authors: Xiao, Z., Harper, L.T., Kennedy, Andrew R., Warrior, N.A.
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47969/
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author Xiao, Z.
Harper, L.T.
Kennedy, Andrew R.
Warrior, N.A.
author_facet Xiao, Z.
Harper, L.T.
Kennedy, Andrew R.
Warrior, N.A.
author_sort Xiao, Z.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description This paper presents the development of a low-cost water-soluble core material, which is suitable for producing hollow composite structures via high pressure moulding processes, such as compression moulding and resin transfer moulding. The bulk material of the core is sodium chloride (NaCl), which is held together by a watersoluble trehalose binder. The composition of the core has been optimised to provide acceptable dissolution rates and mechanical properties for high volume structural composite applications. The compressive strength of the NaCl core was 57 MPa at ambient temperature, which reduced to 20 MPa when tested at 120 °C. The compressive strength at elevated temperature was approximately 4 times higher than for a water-soluble commercial benchmark and 33 times higher than a conventional structural closed-cell foam. The specific dissolution rate of the NaCl core was between 0.14 and 1.23 kg/(min·m2), depending on processing parameters and the coefficient of thermal expansion was approximately 43 × 10−6/K. A practical example has been presented to demonstrate how the removable core can be used to produce a representative hollow section of an integrally stiffened panel.
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spelling nottingham-479692020-05-04T19:22:47Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47969/ A water-soluble core material for manufacturing hollow composite sections Xiao, Z. Harper, L.T. Kennedy, Andrew R. Warrior, N.A. This paper presents the development of a low-cost water-soluble core material, which is suitable for producing hollow composite structures via high pressure moulding processes, such as compression moulding and resin transfer moulding. The bulk material of the core is sodium chloride (NaCl), which is held together by a watersoluble trehalose binder. The composition of the core has been optimised to provide acceptable dissolution rates and mechanical properties for high volume structural composite applications. The compressive strength of the NaCl core was 57 MPa at ambient temperature, which reduced to 20 MPa when tested at 120 °C. The compressive strength at elevated temperature was approximately 4 times higher than for a water-soluble commercial benchmark and 33 times higher than a conventional structural closed-cell foam. The specific dissolution rate of the NaCl core was between 0.14 and 1.23 kg/(min·m2), depending on processing parameters and the coefficient of thermal expansion was approximately 43 × 10−6/K. A practical example has been presented to demonstrate how the removable core can be used to produce a representative hollow section of an integrally stiffened panel. Elsevier 2017-12-15 Article PeerReviewed Xiao, Z., Harper, L.T., Kennedy, Andrew R. and Warrior, N.A. (2017) A water-soluble core material for manufacturing hollow composite sections. Composite Structures, 182 . pp. 380-390. ISSN 1879-1085 Compression moulding; Water-soluble; Core; Carbon fibre composite http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263822317320573?via%3Dihub doi:10.1016/j.compstruct.2017.09.058 doi:10.1016/j.compstruct.2017.09.058
spellingShingle Compression moulding; Water-soluble; Core; Carbon fibre composite
Xiao, Z.
Harper, L.T.
Kennedy, Andrew R.
Warrior, N.A.
A water-soluble core material for manufacturing hollow composite sections
title A water-soluble core material for manufacturing hollow composite sections
title_full A water-soluble core material for manufacturing hollow composite sections
title_fullStr A water-soluble core material for manufacturing hollow composite sections
title_full_unstemmed A water-soluble core material for manufacturing hollow composite sections
title_short A water-soluble core material for manufacturing hollow composite sections
title_sort water-soluble core material for manufacturing hollow composite sections
topic Compression moulding; Water-soluble; Core; Carbon fibre composite
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47969/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47969/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47969/