ADVANCED DESIGN AND LIFE PREDICTION METHODOLGY FOR POLYMERIC MATRIX COMPOSITE COMPONENTS

The primary objective of this SBIR is to enhance the multiscale design system (MDS-C product line) with various PMC degradation models and to validate it against selected demonstration problems. MDS-C has been successfully used by our customers, including Rolls-Royce Aerospace (CMC airfoil in JSF), GM, Ford and Chrysler (polymer composites), General Electric (polymer composites), Simulia (ABAQUS), Navy (sandwich structures), and AFRL (concrete).We will utilize both phemenological models of polymer degradation developed by Prof. Ruggles-Wrenn where possible and will simultaneously pursue a mechanistic based approach of Prof. Rajagopal whenever necessary – thereby helping to make the “learning curve” less steep and minimizing the barriers to use. In addition to the formulation and implementation of the degradation mechanisms, Phase I will include additional three tasks: (i) calibration of the MDS-C against test data (in Phase I we will fully rely on the existing experiments conducted by Prof. Ruggles-Wrenn), (ii) development of the initial intuitive, workable, user-friendly GUI, (iii) initial Phase I demonstrations comparing the MDS-C predictions with the experimental data of inelastic deformation behavior of the PMR-15 neat resin subjected to prior aging at 288 °C for 2000 h. Profs. Ruggles-Wrenn and Rajagopal will serve as consultants. BENEFIT: Candidate PMCs that could retain their mechanical properties at elevated temperatures, such as PMR-15, could be utilized in turbine engines, exhaust wash structures and high-speed aircraft skins, where structural components are exposed to harsh service conditions, but their insertion is hindered by their lack of predictability. This lack of predictability has often resulted in overdesign and thus limited their use since the overdesigned component may not yield any design advantages. To address the predictability challenge, an experimentally validated multiscale design system that accounts for phenomena at multiple scales to predict the behavior of PMC components will be developed. Such a design system would be indispensable in systematic exploration of alternative designs at the material and structural scales and it would advance the state-of-the-art in the field far beyond what an equivalent investment in its comprising building blocks, such as materials, mechanics, testing and computations.