Forming tests of a uni- and a bidirectional non-crimp fabric for different orientations and geometries (hemisphere, tetrahedron, square box)

Reference: The data is published as supplementary data for publications and for other researchers to incorporate the data in their work. Details behind the experimental procedure and the methods applied to analyze the tests are published in (please use to reference this data):

“B. Schäfer, R. Zheng, J. Colmars, A. Platzer, N. Naouar, P. Boisse, L. Kärger. Experimental analysis of the forming behavior of uni- and bidirectional non-crimp fabrics for different geometries, Composites Part B: Engineering, 287:111765, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2024.111765”

Description: This dataset contains high-resolution images and analyzed numerical data (punch forces, outer contour after forming, local strains measured with DIC) of forming tests on a unidirectional non-crimp fabric  (UD-NCF) and a bidirectional non-crimp fabric (Biax-NCF) for different layup configurations and punch shapes (hemisphere, tetrahedron, square box). The tests were conducted for various single- and double-layer configurations with different relative fiber orientations. The experiments were conducted at the “LaMCoS – Laboratoire de Mecanique des Contacts and des Structures” from the “Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA Lyon)” in France. The analysis of the data was performed at the “Institute of Vehicle System Technology, Division Lightweight Engineering” from the “Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)” in Germany. The work was part of the international collaborative research project AMECOMP funded by the ANR in France and the DFG in Germany (DFG: 431354059, ANR: ANR-19-CE06-0031) - https://doi.org/10.5445/IR/1000172090.

Test setup and method: The experimental setup consists of three punch shapes (hemisphere, tetrahedron, square box) with matching planar blank holders and dies. The blank holders apply their own weight to the fabric, and centering pins prevent any in-plane movement.  All setups are mounted to a universal testing machine by ZwickRoell. The blank holders and dies are made of transparent methyl methacrylate (PMMA) to allow for the acquisition of digital images by a high-resolution camera. The forming depths are 75 mm, 95 mm, and 85 mm with blank holder weights of 1.7 kg, 6.0 kg, and 1.7 kg for the hemisphere, tetrahedron, and square box punches, respectively. The dimensions and schematics are summarized in the image “Experimental-setup_schematics-dimensions.jpg”.  The deformation is measured via Digital Image Correlation (DIC) with a regular grid of white dots of acrylic paint using a stencil with a distance of le = 10 mm.

Material: A unidirectional (UD300) and bidirectional (MD600) non-crimp fabric (NCF) both without binder are used, cf. ”Material_schematics.jpg”. The fabrics are manufactured by Zoltek™ and produced from their PX35-50K continuous carbon (CF) fiber heavy tows. Both fabrics are stitched together with a 76 dtex Polyester stitching yarn in a Tricot pattern. A textile layer of UD300 consists of a single fiber layer of aligned CF tows in warp direction with thin glass fibers (GF) in weft direction on the back for improved handleability. A textile layer of MD600 comprises two fiber layers in a 0°/90° orientation. Both fabrics have a similar number of CFs in each fiber layer with about 300 g/m2 in their respective reinforcing directions. 

Tested configurations for all three punch shapes: 

         UD-NCF: three types of single-layer ([0°U], [45°U], [90°U]) and two types of double-layer ([0°U∕45°U], [0°U∕90°U]) configurations

         Biax-NCF: two types of single layer ([(0°∕90°)B], [(±45°)B]) and one type of double-layer [(0°∕90°)B∕(±45°)B] configurations

Provided data:

High-resolution images of all tested configurations for both materials for the different geometries in the respective .7z archives (7-zip.org). [Only one representative image set per configuration due to total size limitations by zenodo.org]

Analyzed numerical data (punch forces, outer contours after forming, local strains measured with DIC) for all tests. The data is stored as nested dictionaries in the folder “_analyzed_data” in the respective .json files. A demonstration to access the data via Python and recreate the plots from the original publication is provided in the supplementary Jupyter Notebook (“example_data_analysis.ipynb”)