PROCESS SIMULATION CHAIN COMBINED WITH A STRUCTURAL SIMULATION TO CAPTURE THE ACTUAL PROCESS-INDUCED EFFECTS AND “AS-BUILD” CHARACTERISTICS

This paper presents a structural “as-built” simulation of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) manufactured in the diaphragm forming process, emphasizing the importance of accounting of process-induced effects for a more accurate prediction of the mechanical behavior. The study expands an existing draping simulation with a curing simulation and links it to an “as-built” structural analysis of a 3-point bending test. By transferring residual stresses, fiber orientations, and deformations from the process simulation to the structural simulation, a more precise depiction of manufacturing conditions were achieved. The results of the “as-built” simulation are validated against physical 3-point bending tests and compared to an “as-designed” simulation to highlight the impact of “as-built” characteristics. The methodology introduces an approach for transferring field quantities between simulation steps, utilizing a material point ID system and a mapping module developed in Python. The findings emphasize the need to consider process-induced effects such as folds and deviations, which influence damage initiation and progression in CFRP structures. The study concludes that “as-built” simulations align more closely with experimental observations compared to “as-designed” simulations, but further research is required to refine material parameters for damage behavior and improve simulation accuracy.