Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are strong and lightweight materials commonly used in aerospace, automotive, and construction industries. Biomaterials offer various unique meso-structures in creating CFRP composites with superior mechanical properties. In this study, we examined the effects of the single and double Bouligand meso-structures with varying twisting angles on the flexural and fracture behavior of the additively manufactured continuous CFRP composites. 3-point bend test was conducted to characterize the flexural properties such as flexural modulus, strength, and energy absorption. Single edge notch bend test was utilized to quantitively characterize the mode I fracture toughness and effective fracture energy. The elasto-plastic fracture theory was used to calculate the contributions of the elastic and plastic energies on the effective fracture energy. Our findings indicate that twist angles have a greater impact on both flexural behavior of Bouligand structures, while layup configurations mainly affect the degree of these behaviors. The results of the fracture tests indicated that the meso-structure and twisting angle had little effect on the fracture energy required for crack nucleation. However, when the plastic energy dissipation was taken into account in the effective fracture calculations, it was found that the fracture energy dissipation could be improved by up to 60% by selecting the appropriate twisting angle in both single and double Bouligand configurations. These findings can be used as a guide for the development of CFRP composites using additive manufacturing. Additionally, this study is among the earliest to showcase the fracture properties of additively manufactured continuous CFRP composites with Bouligand meso-structures.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2023

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Wu, Dazhong

Degree

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (M.S.M.E.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Degree Program

Mechanical Engineering; Mechanical Systems Track

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0009560; DP0027569

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0027569

Language

English

Release Date

May 2026

Length of Campus-only Access

3 years

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Campus-only Access)

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Restricted to the UCF community until May 2026; it will then be open access.

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