Stretch Forming Studies on Thermoplastic Composite

Thermoplastic composites have the potential to revolutionise the automotive industry. They can reduce the weight of a car significantly, without compromising on structural rigidity. The use of thermoplastic composites is currently not widespread, due to the advantages metals have in ease of manufact...

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Main Author: Sivakumar, Dhar Malingam
Format: Conference or Workshop Item
Language:English
Published: 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/4185/
http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/4185/1/Paper_1125.pdf
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author Sivakumar, Dhar Malingam
author_facet Sivakumar, Dhar Malingam
author_sort Sivakumar, Dhar Malingam
building UTeM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Thermoplastic composites have the potential to revolutionise the automotive industry. They can reduce the weight of a car significantly, without compromising on structural rigidity. The use of thermoplastic composites is currently not widespread, due to the advantages metals have in ease of manufacture, being readily stamp formed. To date, many composite forming studies have centred around the draw forming of fabrics, with little consultation of the extensive body of knowledge on sheet metal forming. A different approach was taken by investigating the stretch forming behaviour of a pre-consolidated self-reinforced polypropylene composite (Curv®). This was accomplished by stamp forming blanks of varying geometry in a customised press that utilised a lock ring to enforce stretch forming conditions. Strains were measured throughout the forming process with an optical strain measurement system. The experimental results were used to generate a Forming Limit Diagram (FLD) for Curv at room temperature. It was determined that Curv® exhibits a considerably different forming behaviour to metals, and it was observed that there was a shift of the FLD into the positive minor strain region, suggesting that Curv can sustain larger minor strains for a given major strain than the metals used in comparison. Accordingly, Curv exhibits superior formability to Aluminium, facilitating the manufacture of more complex and intricate parts, within a comparative time frame.
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format Conference or Workshop Item
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institution Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka
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language English
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publishDate 2010
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spelling utem-41852015-05-28T02:40:18Z http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/4185/ Stretch Forming Studies on Thermoplastic Composite Sivakumar, Dhar Malingam TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery Thermoplastic composites have the potential to revolutionise the automotive industry. They can reduce the weight of a car significantly, without compromising on structural rigidity. The use of thermoplastic composites is currently not widespread, due to the advantages metals have in ease of manufacture, being readily stamp formed. To date, many composite forming studies have centred around the draw forming of fabrics, with little consultation of the extensive body of knowledge on sheet metal forming. A different approach was taken by investigating the stretch forming behaviour of a pre-consolidated self-reinforced polypropylene composite (Curv®). This was accomplished by stamp forming blanks of varying geometry in a customised press that utilised a lock ring to enforce stretch forming conditions. Strains were measured throughout the forming process with an optical strain measurement system. The experimental results were used to generate a Forming Limit Diagram (FLD) for Curv at room temperature. It was determined that Curv® exhibits a considerably different forming behaviour to metals, and it was observed that there was a shift of the FLD into the positive minor strain region, suggesting that Curv can sustain larger minor strains for a given major strain than the metals used in comparison. Accordingly, Curv exhibits superior formability to Aluminium, facilitating the manufacture of more complex and intricate parts, within a comparative time frame. 2010 Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/4185/1/Paper_1125.pdf Sivakumar, Dhar Malingam (2010) Stretch Forming Studies on Thermoplastic Composite. In: 6th Australasian Congress on Applied Mechanics, ACAM 6 , 12-15 December 2010, Perth, Australia.
spellingShingle TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
Sivakumar, Dhar Malingam
Stretch Forming Studies on Thermoplastic Composite
title Stretch Forming Studies on Thermoplastic Composite
title_full Stretch Forming Studies on Thermoplastic Composite
title_fullStr Stretch Forming Studies on Thermoplastic Composite
title_full_unstemmed Stretch Forming Studies on Thermoplastic Composite
title_short Stretch Forming Studies on Thermoplastic Composite
title_sort stretch forming studies on thermoplastic composite
topic TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
url http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/4185/
http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/4185/1/Paper_1125.pdf