Specific shell approaches for the forming of continuous fibre composite reinforcements – COQFIB

Composite materials enable lightweight structures combined with high performance, which in the field of transport contribute to lower consumption and CO2 emissions. Process simulation is a way to avoid costly trial-and-error development. This project concerns the forming of continuous fibre composite reinforcements and prepregs. The fibrous composition of composite reinforcements fundamentally changes the physics of deformation. In the case of shell modelling, it is shown that classical theories are not relevant. Shell approaches based on deformation physics will be developed. They will be extended to solid-shells specific to fibrous materials to take into account the compaction and consolidation of prepregs. Draping experiments for the validation of the approaches and caracterisation of the material properties are an important part of the project.