Numerical simulation of expansion and charring of carbon-epoxy laminates in fire environments

Abstract

A thermal model is developed for the response of carbon-epoxy composite laminates in fire environments. The model is based on a porous media description that includes the effects of gas transport within the laminate along with swelling. Model comparisons are conducted against the data from Quintiere et al. [34]. Verifications are conducted for both coupon level and intermediate scale one-sided heating tests. Comparisons of the heat release rate (HRR) and time-to-ignition as well as the final products (mass fractions, volume percentages, porosity, etc.) are conducted. Overall, the agreement between available the data and model is good considering the simplified approximations to account for flame heat flux. A sensitivity study using a newly developed swelling model shows the importance of accounting for laminate expansion for the prediction of burnout. Reasonable agreement is observed between the model and data of the final product composition that includes porosity, mass fractions and volume expansion ratio.

Finite difference adaptation of the decomposition of layered composite structures on irregular grid

“…Since q B ¼ q A , according to the boundary conditions of equations (19), T B nÀ1 can, with equation (46), be rewritten as…”

Three-dimensional modeling and experimental validation of thermomechanical response of FRP composites exposed to one-sided heat flux

“…3 [18], McGurn and DesJardin et al [19], Li et al [20], Luo et al [21], Martias et al [22] further extended the prediction method of thermomechanical responses of FRP composites and their predicted results were verified against the experimental data. Recently, Gibson, Mouritz, Feih, et al [23][24][25][26][27][28] discussed the high temperature and fire behavior of polymer matrix composites under load in fire.…”

Investigation on the Continuous Wave Mode and the ms Pulse Mode Fiber Laser Drilling Mechanisms of the Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composite

“…This numerical model, which was mainly based on the model by Chippendale et al [24], considered the processes of the thermal transport, the polymer degradation, the pyrolysis gases transport, and the carbon fiber sublimation in the composite. The model formulations [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] and the calculation parameters [18,24,29] Figure 8 shows the temperature field and the internal gas pressure distribution in the composite along the thickness direction with a laser irradiation time of 1 ms (1 pulse duration). From the temperature profiles of Figure 8, it could be found that a higher laser peak power density led to a faster temperature rise and a faster heat transfer in the composite.…”

“…where the subscripts 'o' and 'e' denote the original state and the end state, respectively. R a = 0.17 was used [27]. Hence, the mass transforming relationship of the polymer resin and char could be given by:…”

“…where d f was the diameter of a single carbon fiber, defined as 6 µm and C = 144 [27,31]. The kinematic viscosity that was used in the model was assumed to be 3 × 10 −5 Pa•s.…”