| Abstract Scope |
Stitch reinforcements have an increasing role in the design and customization of fiber reinforced polymers. Commonly known for their use in non-crimp, stitch bonded, and 3-D textiles, recent innovations have expanded the role of stitches for optimization of forming behavior, improving bonding in composites, customized textile sensors, and recently, the novel implementation of embroidery stitching for manufacturing kirigami-based deployable structures. Embroidery stitch machines create a lock-stitch: a stitch consisting of upper and lower threads intertwined to “lock” together. Despite the advancements in their manufacturing technology, stitches are under looked in their own ability to augment composite textile behavior through design and material hybridization. While efforts have been made to model warp stitching and through thickness stitching of 3-D textiles, very little has been researched into the mechanical effect of stitch pattern, processing, material, and methods to characterize stitch behavior, both experimentally and through multi-scale models. In this work, a framework is developed for the geometric modeling of lock-stitch architectures and the integration of these stitches with reinforcement material. Homogenization will occur with experimental tensile test validation to evaluate the influence of stitch material, pattern, and placement on the CFRP so that a fundamental understanding of embroidery stitch influenced mechanics can be established. Through these initial mechanical characterizations, it is anticipated that improved topology design and optimization can occur for embroidery stitch-based hybridization. |