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Macroscopic mapping of microscale fibers in freeform injection molded fiber-reinforced composites using X-ray scattering tensor tomography

Kim, Jisoo ; Slyamov, Azat ; Lauridsen, Erik ; Birkbak, Mie ; Ramos, Tiago ; Marone, Federica ; Andreasen, Jens W. ; Stampanoni, Marco and Kagias, Matias LU (2022) In Composites Part B: Engineering 233.
Abstract

Fiber-reinforced composites deliver lightweight but strong structures that are crucial in applications ranging from aerospace to the automotive industry. The advent of freeform injection molding has made the manufacturing of complex fiber-reinforced composites with full design freedom possible. Prediction of the mechanical properties, dictated by the local microfiber orientation, is essential for the performance characterization of fiber-reinforced composites. However, with conventional microtomography, the required microscale spatial resolution and the macroscopic field of view for full-size fiber-reinforced composite pieces cannot be effectively decoupled. X-ray scattering tensor tomography enables non-destructive macroscopic mapping... (More)

Fiber-reinforced composites deliver lightweight but strong structures that are crucial in applications ranging from aerospace to the automotive industry. The advent of freeform injection molding has made the manufacturing of complex fiber-reinforced composites with full design freedom possible. Prediction of the mechanical properties, dictated by the local microfiber orientation, is essential for the performance characterization of fiber-reinforced composites. However, with conventional microtomography, the required microscale spatial resolution and the macroscopic field of view for full-size fiber-reinforced composite pieces cannot be effectively decoupled. X-ray scattering tensor tomography enables non-destructive macroscopic mapping of the local microfiber orientation as well as their degree of alignment. Recent advancements in X-ray optics have significantly increased the acquisition speed, making the tensor tomography attractive for industrial applications. Nonetheless, integration of the tensor tomography within production lines requires a flexible and robust implementation. In this work, we demonstrate the potential of X-ray scattering tensor tomography for industrial applications by characterizing the microstructure of a centimeter-sized industrially relevant freeform injection molding fiber-reinforced composite sample. We also show that the tensor tomography is compatible with robotic arms, which can position and orient objects in three dimensions with high flexibility and therefore are ideal sample manipulators for the tensor tomography in industrial settings. The results obtained with the robotic arm are compared to those obtained with the state-of-the-art 2-axis sample manipulation scheme. The retrieved information is highly consistent and shows agreement also with structure tensor analyses of conventional microtomography data taken at selected regions of the sample for additional validation.

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author
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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Computed tomography, Injection moulding, Non-destructive testing, Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs)
in
Composites Part B: Engineering
volume
233
article number
109634
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85123615193
ISSN
1359-8368
DOI
10.1016/j.compositesb.2022.109634
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2022
id
2e5fc401-307e-46a9-b57b-4dbc138868d2
date added to LUP
2023-11-27 08:56:45
date last changed
2023-11-29 16:46:41
@article{2e5fc401-307e-46a9-b57b-4dbc138868d2,
  abstract     = {{<p>Fiber-reinforced composites deliver lightweight but strong structures that are crucial in applications ranging from aerospace to the automotive industry. The advent of freeform injection molding has made the manufacturing of complex fiber-reinforced composites with full design freedom possible. Prediction of the mechanical properties, dictated by the local microfiber orientation, is essential for the performance characterization of fiber-reinforced composites. However, with conventional microtomography, the required microscale spatial resolution and the macroscopic field of view for full-size fiber-reinforced composite pieces cannot be effectively decoupled. X-ray scattering tensor tomography enables non-destructive macroscopic mapping of the local microfiber orientation as well as their degree of alignment. Recent advancements in X-ray optics have significantly increased the acquisition speed, making the tensor tomography attractive for industrial applications. Nonetheless, integration of the tensor tomography within production lines requires a flexible and robust implementation. In this work, we demonstrate the potential of X-ray scattering tensor tomography for industrial applications by characterizing the microstructure of a centimeter-sized industrially relevant freeform injection molding fiber-reinforced composite sample. We also show that the tensor tomography is compatible with robotic arms, which can position and orient objects in three dimensions with high flexibility and therefore are ideal sample manipulators for the tensor tomography in industrial settings. The results obtained with the robotic arm are compared to those obtained with the state-of-the-art 2-axis sample manipulation scheme. The retrieved information is highly consistent and shows agreement also with structure tensor analyses of conventional microtomography data taken at selected regions of the sample for additional validation.</p>}},
  author       = {{Kim, Jisoo and Slyamov, Azat and Lauridsen, Erik and Birkbak, Mie and Ramos, Tiago and Marone, Federica and Andreasen, Jens W. and Stampanoni, Marco and Kagias, Matias}},
  issn         = {{1359-8368}},
  keywords     = {{Computed tomography; Injection moulding; Non-destructive testing; Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs)}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Composites Part B: Engineering}},
  title        = {{Macroscopic mapping of microscale fibers in freeform injection molded fiber-reinforced composites using X-ray scattering tensor tomography}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2022.109634}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.compositesb.2022.109634}},
  volume       = {{233}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}