On the predictive tools for assessing the effect of manufacturing defects on the mechanical properties of composite materials

Despite the recent advances in the field of manufacturing of composite materials, with both thermosetting and thermoplastic matrix, the presence of irregularities that influence their mechanical properties and behavior remains a critical issue to the industry. The defects with the form of porosity, fiber misalignment, delamination and poor consolidation are considered an unavoidable form of initial damage to composite materials. The reduction of the defects by optimizing the manufacturing process and the creation effective tools for predicting the residual properties of these materials during the design and/or the manufacturing phase are of great interest. In the present work, presented are these numerical tools and methodologies based either on the idea of optimizing the manufacturing process or by using data derived from non-destructive tests. Finally, the possibility of combining the two approaches is being proposed.