SPECIALISTS IN COMPOSITES, PLASTICS, DESIGN AND SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

NGN COMPOSITES

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COMPOSITE PRODUCT DESIGN :Design basics and Material Considerations

Dr. N. G. NAIR

(Former Head, Composites Technology Centre, IIT Madras)

NGN COMPOSITES, CHENNAI

Chief Designer and Consultant

COMPOSITE PRODUCT

The term COMPOSITE PRODUCT refers here to a physical entity created using composite materials.
It may be -the whole product - the element of a product or - the load bearing structural skeleton of the product

SPECIAL FEATURES OF COMPOSITES DESIGN

The material structure is also designed along with the design of product geometry. Material structure at every point of product is designed to suit to the performance needs of that point. Material structure can thus vary from cross section to cross section. Because of the variations in material structure and the complexity of material behaviour, the design process is more complex than conventional designs. Some of these features, material considerations and design procedures are outlined here.

PRODUCT DESIGN

The product has a physical structure created using the material or materials. Design integrates the two and makes the product lively

GOOD DESIGN MAKES THE PRODUCT LIVELY

NATURES LIGHT WEIGHT DESIGN

RADIOLARIA

TAJ MAHAL

It is something more than marbles and domes

WHAT IS DESIGN ?

We come across the word design in very different contexts like

Fashion Design Interior Design Graphic Design Chip Design Product Design Political Design

DESIGN (Contd.)
All these are very diverse in nature

If so, why call all of them design? What is common in all of them? What is design?

DEFINITION OF DESIGN
There are many definitions for design. One definition that gives a good picture of design is as follows. Design is a decision making process in which the abstract ideas and concepts are converted in a rational way into useful/acceptable

Products Processes Courses of action

The central activity of design is decision making.

Decisions must be rational or logical and not intuitive. To make decisions rational, one must look into all possible options and zero in on to the most optimum option.

Mathematical computations and design aids like CAD are design tools.
Designer must cultivate decision making skills.

ENGINEERING DESIGN

Engineering design is a subset of design in which scientific laws and engineering principles are used for design. Engineering design can be Product design Manufacturing process design

WHY PRODUCT DESIGN ?

To ensure the product function To ensure the product safety and durability To ensure the product performance and reliability

To ensure that the product will give maximum benefit at minimum cost. Value for money These are the four values or requirements of design as shown next

DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
Product design has to ensure four basic requirements FUNCTION SAFETY RELIABILITY COST-EFFECTIVENESS

FUNCTION
The Product shall fulfill the functional requirements for which it is being designed

WHAT ARE FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS?

Utility Aesthetics Ergonomics Thermal Optical Acoustic Biological Electrical/Electromagnetic

Decision 1: Select those functions that are relevant to make the product efficient

FUNCTION:

UTILITY

The overall shape of product, the shape and structure of the product elements and their dimensions ensure utility - physical use of products - aerodynamic efficiency of aircraft, rockets, automobiles and other transport in air and the hydrostatic and dynamic performance of marine vessels. Decision 2: Select that shape which also helps to use composites efficiently Example Shape of liquid and gas storage tanks.

FUNCTION: AESTHETICS

Visual appeal of product depends on shape. Colour and texture of surface, ornamental surface finishes and the play of light on product like reflection and transmission that creates visual effect.

Decision 3: Select colour and texture of surface and light transmission characteristics of product and light reflection of surface.

FUNCTION: ERGONOMICS

The shape, structure and dimensions that give comfort and ease of operation of products Material role is not very significant.

Decision 4: Assess whether material can affect ergonomics and then make suitable material selection.

FUNCTION: THERMAL

Transmission, reflection and absorption of heat Effect of temperature on materials used Fire resistance/flammability characteristics

Decision 5: Since material selection has a major impact, select the fibres, resins and other ingredients and their structure that suits to the thermal behaviour needs.

FUNCTION: OPTICAL

Transmission, reflection and absorption of visible light Transmission, absorption and reflection of laser beam.

Effect of U.V.radiation on composites

FUNCTION: ACOUSTIC

Transmission, reflection and absorption of sonar signals in under water communication.

Absorption of sound for using composites as acoustic insulators in the sonic range. Ultrasonic behaviour of composites for examining the possible flaws in interior.

FUNCTION: Biological

Biocompatibility of composites used as body implants and hospital instruments. To prevent biological growth in marine applications For using composites for food storage like storage and transportation of water, milk, edible oil etc.

FUNCTION: ELECTRICAL

SAFETY
The Product during its manufacture, transportation, commissioning, operation and disposal after use shall neither affect its own safety and the safety of its users, the public at large or the environment nor shall cause any concern to safety

HOW TO ENSURE SAFETY

Design for Serviceability

Design to prevent material failure

Design to prevent structural failure

DESIGN FOR SERVICEABILITY

At design load Limit deflections Limit strains Limit oscillations Limit cracks Materials shall not cause functional failure

DESIGN TO PREVENT STRUCTURAL FAILURE

Design to prevent Structural failure under loads Local failure Total collapse Local buckling Global Buckling Resonance under vibrations Impact failure Creep failure Delamination Debonding

DESIGN TO PREVENT MATERIAL FAILURE

Select materials and materials structure to prevent material failure under Operating temperature and heat Chemicals Moisture U.V.Radiation and other radiations Wear and tear Lightning Biological

RELIABILITY REQUIREMENTS

The product shall give performance thought out its life at an acceptable reliability level.

COST-EFFECTIVENESS

The product shall be cost-effective at the acceptable reliability level Cost-effectiveness can be measured in terms of - Minimum weight - Minimum initial cost - Minimum life cycle cost - Minimum expected cost

MINIMUM WEIGHT CRITERION

Minimum product weight is a good criterion for the design of all transport systems where weight savings during operation can provide overall minimum cost irrespective of high initial cost

INITIAL COST CRITERION

Initial cost of a product = Cost of materials + Cost of production + Proportionate cost of design and development + Other incidental costs This criterion does not take into account the operational cost or maintenance cost

LIFE CYCLE COST

Life cycle cost = Initial cost + Cost of operation + Cost of maintenance Cost recovered at the end of life This criterion does not take into account the consequences of failure

EXPECTED COST CRITERION

Expected cost of a product = Life cycle cost + Cost arising due to the possible modes of failures Cost of failure = Probability of failure x Consequence of failure

DESIGN CONSTRAINTS
Product design must take into account the constraints as given below Resource constraints
Constraints on availability of technology, materials, manufacturing facility and financial resources

Legal constraints
The design should comply with the law of the land

Moral constraints
The product made shall not violate the moral standard of the society

UNCERTAINTIES IN DESIGN
Uncertainties in product design arise due to - Variabilities in load - Variabilities in the material properties - Variabilities arising due to design approximations - Variabilities arising due to manufacturing process THE DESIGN PROCESS MUST TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE UNCERTAINTIES AND COMPENSATE FOR THEM

FACTOR OF SAFETY

Factory of safety is a number which is used to increase the margin of safety and to compensate uncertainties in design Total factor of safety K = K0 K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K0 = A basic partial factor for accounting uncertainties in load, material variability, design etc. K1 = factor for manufacturing uncertainties K2 = factor for variations in resin cure K3 = factor for strength reduction due to thermal effect K4 = factor for strength reduction due to chemical at / moisture attack K5 = factor for fatigue effect K6 = factor for impact effect

FACTOR OF SAFETY IN COMPOSITES DESIGN

Design situation Doors, partition panels and other components used for interior use (Lightly loaded elements) Products used for exterior application under static load (Roofs, cladding panels etc.) Products subjected to fatigue loads (Example beams) Products used for storing or handling liquids like water tanks, drain pipes etc. Products subjected to impact loads Filament wound products Consumer durable goods made of compression moulded SMC Pultruded building members under static loads
K 3 4 6

10 6 to10 23

3-4

CLASSIFICATION OF PRODUCT DESIGN

Products are designed at different levels of sophistication and with different degree of detailing. Designs can be broadly divided into
Inventive design Innovative design Routine design

INVENTIVE DESIGN
When the design of the product is taken with no knowledge of product behaviour, no past experience and no design data, it amounts to inventing a new product

INNOVATIVE DESIGN
When product is made else where, knowledge exists but the design has no design data and design experience , such design is called innovative design

ROUTINE DESIGN

A design becomes a routine design if the designer has full knowledge and experience on the design. He has to only collect the design data and execute the design

Routine design often follows standards and codes of practices

DESIGN PROCEDURE

Design input

Design selection

Product description, dimensions, loads, environmental conditions, material properties Manufacturing methods, laminate structure, reinforcements, resins, fillers, additives, factor of safety Allowable stress, stress analysis of each element of the product verification of stresses and deflections under load, buckling, detailed design of joints supports, openings Lay up structure and wall thickness of all elements, stiffeners, joints, openings, supports, openings

Design calculation

Design results

DECISION MAKING IN DESIGN PROCESS

HOW TO MAKE DECISIONS

All decisions must be rational. Do not make selections in design based on intuitions or belief. Use creativity to bring new ideas, but weigh its worth before deciding to use it. Use scientific knowledge and engineering principles as much as possible.

Decisions can be made in two ways - decision based on subjective preference - decision based on objective analysis

DECISION BASED ON PREFERENCE

These are the decisions made initially to select the design parameters, design material etc. There is no detailed mathematical computations or experimentations at this stage. The decisions are made by the designer or group of designers based on Knowledge Experience Creativity Design informations collected Judgment

DESIGN ALGORITHM
It is a step by step procedure which guides the designer to collect information, make decisions, make analytical models, carry out analysis, interpret results and decide the design acceptability

4.DESIGN ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA

DESIGN CRITERIA FOR ENSURING SAFETY UNDER UNCERTAINTIES

Allowable stress method

Unit load method Damage tolerant design

ALLOWABLE STRESS METHOD

Assess the design load Assess the material strength Determine the stress in the structure due to design load Find out the allowable stress = (Material strength / Factor of safety) Product is consider safe if actual stress due to design load is less than allowable stress

UNIT LOAD METHOD

Find out design load Determine the unit load acting on the cross-section or unit width of cross-section Determine unit load capacity of structural cross-section Determine allowable unit load of crosssection = Unit strength / Factor of safety Product is consider safe if unit load is less than allowable unit load

DAMAGE TOLERANT DESIGN

Damages like internal cracks / Delaminations / Debonding of cross-sections of the composite products are determined by experimental techniques The tolerable damages of identical nature that can be allowed at the same location are determined by fracture mechanics analysis The product is considered safe for operation if the actual damage is less than the tolerable damage of same nature DAMAGE TOLERANT DESIGN IS VERY USEFUL FOR COMPOSITES FOR INITIAL ACCEPTANCE AND FOR ASSESSING RESIDUAL LIFE

5.ANALYTICAL TOOLS

EXAMPLES OF FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

Aerodynamic design of aircraft wing, helicopter blade, wind mill blade and automobile body Analysis and design of heat shield of re-entry vehicles Heat transfer analysis of thermally insulated buildings and containers Acoustic design of sound insulators and sonar domes Electromagnetic design of antenna dishes and radomes

METHODS OF STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

Strength of materials approach

Simple, Approximate, Difficult to assess stresses at joints, openings, corners and edges

Closed form elasticity solutions

Not possible to find solutions for most composites. Difficult to assess interlaminar shear

Finite element method

Products can be correctly modeled. Stresses at critical regions can be assessed. Interlaminar stresses can be determined. Sufficiently accurate. Convergence to be checked

OPTIMISATION METHODS

Mathematical programming Genetic algorithm Repeated trial and error method using FEM

MATERIAL VARIABLES

Selection of materials Fibres Matrix binder Additives Fillers Pigments Core materials Design of material structure - Laminate structures Sandwich structure Structure of phased composites Whether to use preprocessed materials Moulding compounds Prepregs Preforms Colour texture and finish of product surface

MANUFACTURE RELATED VARIABLES

Method of manufacture Quality assurance and performance evaluation Transportation, erection and maintenance

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE

It is essential in the case of composites to design the manufacturing process at the design stage itself in order to achieve the required material structure & composition. This includes - Selection of manufacturing methods - Process modelling and process design - Pattern and mould design - Quality assurance plan - Design and planning of manufacturing steps - Product evaluation to prove the product

PRODUCT SPECIFICATION

Product specification is the final document prepared based on the design which serves as a means of communication between the client and fabricator It shall include - Product drawing - Material and Material specification - Specification for manufacturing - Quality assurance procedure - Material and cost estimation

SPECIAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS IN COMPOSITES DESIGN

MATERIAL MICROSTRUCTURE DESIGN

Material design involves selection of the basic materials and structuring them in relation to the geometry of product and product crosssection

LAMINATE MICROSTRUCTURE

Lamina thickness No. of lamina Lamina or ply orientation Lamina sequence Balanced or unbalanced Symmetric or unsymmetric

SANDWICH STRUCTURE

A-sandwich or B-sandwich Skin thickness and structure Core structure (foam, honey comb, fluted) Foam core density

Honey comb cell size

Type of bond between skin and core

MULTIPHASE STRUCTURE

Continuous fibre Tex Uniaxial, Woven biaxial, Woven triaxial, Knitted, Braided, Cross stitched, Random (Powder bonded, Emulsion bonded, Stitched) Short fibre Length Random (2D, 3D), Bonded cross stitched Fibre content Filler content and Filler size Additives Creation of polymer chain, Cross-linking, Crystallinity in polymer matrix system

HOW TO ACHIEVE DURABILITY

Select materials with durability under the design conditions Good design with adequate margin of safety

Achieve the designed microstructure and material cure by the manufacturing process Good quality assurance procedures
Prototype evaluation by accelerated experimental methods

CREATIVE THINKING Ability to form new ideas and to judge its suitability for a design situation KNOWLEDGE & ENGINEERING SKILL Scientific knowledge of the product and its performance. Ability to perceive the problem from engineering view point and develop technical capabilities EXPERIENCE Past experience in design of same or similar products Decision making ability Ability to identify possible alternative solutions and to rationally select the most appropriate alternative using engineering judgment, experience and knowledge

QUALITIES OF A GOOD DESIGNER

QUALITIES OF GOOD DESIGN TEAM

Team work qualities - Design is a compromise under the group decision activity System thinking - Ability to view and understand the product under design as a part of a total system Management skills - Skills to plan and execute the design considering the view points of other members of design team

HOW TO ACHIEVE COST REDUCTION

1
Fibrous composites are good in tension. Hence, select product shapes that create tensile load on the material

2 Use high strength costly

materials selectively at places of high stresses and less costly materials at other regions

3 Fibrous composites are strong in

fibre direction. Hence, orient fibres in the direction of higher stresses to take full advantage of their strength

4 Use stiffened panels, grids and

gratings with fibres in the beam elements oriented along the beam axis

5 Use shell shapes and sandwich and

stiffened panels to increase buckling strength under compressive load

6 Use folded plate construction to

increase flexural rigidity

Select manufacturing methods with high productivity

Compression moulding (SMC) Resin infusion methods (RTM,VARTM,VIM) Thermoforming of FRTP Reinforced reaction injection moulding

Adopt good quality assurance procedures for ensuring product quality and avoiding rejection

9 Avoid or minimise wastage of

materials and rework during production

10 Use modular concept to make

use of smaller and standard moulds and for better productivity

THANK YOU