Appendix G: (NASA ARMD Electric Aircraft Batteries & Crash Safety): Composite Materials Mechanical Property Characterization for LS-DYNA MAT213 Model

A university-NASA partnership is being developed to provide technical and experimental support for the development of numerical predictive models for the design and analysis of advanced polymer-matrix composite materials under extreme loading conditions. The mechanical behavior of composite material structure is not easily predicted because of the great complexity of the failure mechanisms that occur within the material, and is further complicated with the geometric structure details. The scope of this work is to perform a full experimental calibration of a hybrid weave composite material for implementation into LS-DYNA MAT213, focusing on the deformation module calibration. Three objectives are targeted in this work. First, we will provide the experimentally required stress-strain curves and the associated material constants for the calibration of the MAT-213 material model. Full-field displacement measurements by digital image correlations (DIC) and global coordinate axial strains measurements by non-contact video extensometer will be employed in all mechanical tests. Mode-I and Mode-II fracture experiments will be carried out for interlaminar characterization of failure modes. The proposed experimental protocol will facilitate large sample set testing, data collection and statistical analysis of the needed material parameters. The experimental framework will accelerate the testing protocol and might facilitate the study of one or more material systems. Second, we propose to utilize the measured incremental plastic strain field in the calibration/verification of the modeling framework, represent on the reduced Moher strain-plane. This is a comprehensive way to relate the full-field incremental strain measurement by DIC to a numerically estimated strain-field derived around a stress concentration feature (e.g. 2D indentation or offset double-notched tensile (ODNT) configuration). We will interactively assess the experimentally observed deformation and plastic flow characteristics, and the incremental strain trajectories against those predicted by the numerical framework, and thereby provide a comprehensive model calibration and verifications for the examined hybrid composite system. Third, in collaboration with the project manager, Dr. Goldberg, NASA Glenn, we will employ simplified 2D cylindrical indentation which is amenable to provide strain rates in the range of (0.001 to 10 /S ) and ODNT configuration. The merit of these loading configurations are in providing (i) a stable deformation path for in situ monitoring of the microscopic evolution and propagation of a highly heterogeneous deformation field, and (ii) a well characterized stress state to examine individual events of increased plastic strain increment within localized deformation band(s) after reaching the peak stress; a precursor for transverse-shearing and lamina-bending failure modes. The proposed methodology is expected to overcome current limitation in the numerical framework of MAT213, by providing detailed mechanistic view of post-peak stress degradation response. The EPSCoR-R3 funding will nourish the university-NASA Glenn and Langley partnership to develop the supporting experimental framework for further development of the composite material models and their implementation into computational frameworks. Dr. Bastawros and two Aerospace Engineering graduate students will execute the experimental testing and analysis plan to calibrate the model parameters for the NASA-provided hybrid weave composite panels. The established partnership with NASA will enable the development of the future workforce through educating young engineers and scientist, with further global impact on reliability of transportation systems by ground, sea, air, and beyond, while influencing the environmental and industrial practices.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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