Strength Enhancement Of Helicoidal Composite Structure Using Full-factorial Combinations

Abstract

Abstract
Structural development of composite structure has evolved toward mimicking the natural-proven
composite structures. This approach is part of the biomimicry discipline, where biological structures are
incorporated with engineering design to obtain remarkable design performances. The helicoidal composite
structure is a proven practice of applying the fundamentals of biomimicry. The present study investigates
the strength enhancement of the helicoidal composite structure as the combined effect of its design
parameters (i.e., number of layers, layer thickness, and fiber orientation). The design combinations were
derived using the full-factorial method, and the ultimate tensile strength of the structures was simulated by
ABAQUS. The best design combinations obtained from this study were exhibited by the structure with six
layers of 0.75 mm thick CFRP and using 0/30/60/90 fiber orientation. The analysis also suggests that fiber
orientation was the most significant design parameter to influence the strength. Eventually, this study
provides applicative information on biomimicry designs and approaches to solve industrial design
challenges.
Keywords: Composite material, Helicoidal structure, Full-factorial, Ultimate Tensile Strength, ANOVA