After successful completion of the course, students are able to

• specify areas of application and application examples of fiber composites
• explain the technological differences of composites compared to conventional materials and give reasons for their advantages in lightweight applications
• define and classify composites from a technical point of view
• name material parameters that can be used to change the material characteristics of composites
• deal with Composite specific basic terms and fundamentals
• read or generate laminate descriptions
• describe available fiber and matrix materials as well as their semi-finished products and delivery forms in detail and to select them according to the application
• explain the manufacturing principle and manufacturing process of fiber composite components
• select appropriate forming processes depending on the application
• describe automation options and potentials in the production process
• explain the design process of composite components
• specify the elastic material behavior of laminate single layers and parameters which influence them
• describe the classical laminate theory for the calculation of layered composite structures and to explain compositespecific effects by means of the layer composite material law
• explicate failure mechanisms in composites materials and apply failure criteria
• list and explain methods of non-destructive material testing to determine damage in composite components
• describe methods of experimental characterization to determine the anisotropic material characteristics of composite components and composites
• name special joining techniques and methods of load introduction in composite components
• Specify available repair measures of composite components.

After successful completion of theexercise part, students are able to

• use micromechanical formulas to determine smeared composite stiffness data
• calculate fiber volume fractions from micrographs and fiber weight fractions
• compute the stiffness and compliance matrix of isotropic, orthotropic, and transversal isotropic materials for triaxial and plane stress states and to explain the differences
• transform the elasticity law in the plane stress state for isotropic and transversally isotropic material behavior and to show the components of the stiffness matrix in polar diagrams depending on the fiber angle
• calculate engineering constants for a unidirectional single layer assuming a plane membrane stress state for isotropic and transversal isotropic material behavior, and to plot the values according to the fiber angle in polar diagrams
• assess the failure behavior of a single layer depending on the fiber angle and compare the results of different failure criteria
• apply the laminate calculation program elamX2 (https://tu-dresden.de/ing/maschinenwesen/ilr/lft/elamx2/elamx)

The following topics regarding composite materials are covered in the lecture part:

• Characterization and classification with respect to lightweight structures
• Fields of industrial applications
• Fiber- and matrix materials
• Processing technologies
• Design
• Mechanical and chemical testing of fiber reinforced polymers
• Quality control
• Joining and Load introduction
• Repair of damaged composite parts.

The exercise part deals with solving of examples on the topics:

• Micromechanics (Rules of Mixture)
• fiber volume fraction/fiber weight fraction
• anisotropic material behavior of laminas
• triaxial and plane stress states
• stiffness and compliance matrix
• transformation Hooke’s law
• engineering constants
• failure criteria
• laminate calculation program elamX² (https://tu-dresden.de/ing/maschinenwesen/ilr/lft/elamx2/elamx

Lecture part: Frontal presentation with slides. The subject matter is explained on the basis of real show pieces and videos. Additional notes and explanations are discussed on the board.

Exercise part: Presentation and discussion of exercises with additional notes and explanations on the board. Introduction to the use of the program elamX²:

The lecture materials  can be downloaded  in TISS/TUWEL  before the lecture.

Pandemiebedingt kann das Format der Abhaltung der LVA abweichen

Lecture part: Oral or written exam, depending on the Covid-Situation.

Exercise part: Submission of exercise protocols created in groups of 2 students.

The lecture materials  can be downloaded  in TISS/TUWEL  before the lecture.

Basic knowledge in lightweight structures and mechanics.