PhD candidate
Project: Carbon Fibre Sheet Moulding Compounds and their Hybrids for the Production of Aerospace Components
henri.schwalm [at] mail.mcgill.ca (Mail)
Supervisor: Prof Pascal Hubert
Compression moulding of long discontinuous fibre reinforced sheet moulding compounds (SMC) is a highly efficient way to produce medium to high production volume composite parts. New formulations of this material class achieve stiffness values rivaling those of aerospace grade continuous fibre laminates through improved material architecture and a high fibre-volume fraction. However, their inherent heterogeneity and flow induced morphology features contribute to a low strength and high variability in both stiffness and strength. To enable their use in the aerospace industry, this project investigates processing of SMCs as well as hybrid structures combining SMC with continuous fibre reinforcements. A holistic understanding of the impact of charge design and flow compaction behavior is required to control variability and improve design allowables.