Context & Justification
The selection and characterization of structural materials is a fundamental step in aircraft design. Low-cost composite materials, such as fiberglass/epoxy laminates and recycled carbon fiber/thermoset composites, offer very favorable strength-to-weight ratios, but their mechanical properties strongly depend on the manufacturing process, fiber orientation, and operational environmental conditions.
This project generates an experimental database of mechanical properties of composite materials that are affordable and locally manufacturable in Ecuador, directly contributing to the ATA group's UAV structural design projects and the PIGR-24-01 carbon fiber recycling project.
Main Research Goal
Specific Scopes
- Manufacture composite material specimens (fiberglass/epoxy, carbon fiber/epoxy, and recycled carbon fiber/epoxy) using vacuum infusion and hand lay-up, varying stacking sequences and fiber fractions.
- Perform static mechanical tests (tension, compression, bending, interlaminar shear) per ASTM standards D3039, D3410, D790, and D2344 at EPN's materials laboratory.
- Develop finite element models (FEM) of the specimens and validate them against experimental results to establish a reliable computational design workflow.
- Compare recycled carbon fiber properties (from project PIGR-24-01) with virgin fiber in terms of elastic modulus, tensile strength, and density.
Research Products
Experimental mechanical properties database for at least 3 composite material systems, with complete dispersion statistics and measurement uncertainty analysis.
Validated FEM models for failure prediction in composite laminates, adapted to software tools available at EPN's laboratory.
Comparative analysis of recycled vs. virgin carbon fiber with application recommendations for ATA group UAV structural components.
Composite laminate manufacturing and quality control protocol adapted to EPN's manufacturing laboratory capabilities.