Design and fabrication of

composite components; the

spring-forward phenomenon
IV. ZAHLAN* and J. M. O'NEILLt

(*IC! Wilton Materials Research Centre/tUniversity of Nottingham, UK)

When subjected to a change in temperature, continuous fibre

reinforced plastics, because of their highly anisotropic nature, distort
in shape as well as size. For a channel of L-shaped cross section,
differential in-plane to thickness contraction causes the enclosed
angle to decrease upon cooling in what is referred to as the
spring-forward phenomenon. When curved sections are incorporated
into three-dimensional articles, such as a 'top hat' component,
restraint of the edge results in stress build-up and distortion in the
structure. The spring-forward effect is studied analytically and
numerically for L-shaped cross section channels and the predictions
are compared to experimental measurements. The modelling
techniques are also applied to a 'top hat' component formed from
continuous carbon fibre-reinforced PEEKcomposite of quasi-isotropic
lay-up. Predicted deformations are compared to those measured for
manufactured components. Using finite element modelling methods
the effect of the spring-forward phenomenon during forming of
composite components can be anticipated and accounted for in
forming tool design.

Key words: carbon fibre-reinforced composite; spring-forward; finite

element analysis; temperature effect

The development of continuous carbon fibre-
reinforced PEEKin the early 1980's introduced to the
users of advanced composites a material which differed
significantly from those in use at the time.
Incorporating a thermoplastic matrix material resulted
in a composite considerably tougher and more impact
resistant than traditional thermoset based composites.
In addition, the thermoplastic nature of the material
promised significant advantages during fabrication and
the possibility of applying highly developed and
optimized metal working technology to the advanced
materials of the future.
Thermal stresses are r¢cognised as features arising
during the manufacture of conventional thermosetting
composites; 1 however, the high temperature at which
PEEKmust be procesed does suggest an increased
significance of thermally induced stresses and
distortions in a finished article fabricated with this new
class of composites. Whereas experience indicates that
the internal stresses do not detract from the benefits of
these materials, 2 it is found that cooling from the
processing temperature can result in undesirable
0010-4361/89/010077-05 $3.00(~)1989 Butterworth & Co (Publishers) Ltd
COMPOSITES. VOLUME 20. NUMBER 1. JANUARY 1989
distortion. The tool designer can accommodate these
distortions by preplanning based on experience.
Therefore it is desirable to be able to predict distortions
accurately, reducing the trial and error time when
producing a new component.
One thermally induced effect, the spring-forward
effect, is observed as a decrease in enclosed angle of a
formed part. Therefore, if a composite channel section
is formed on a tool including right angle sections, these
right angles reduce in the finished article. This effect is
the result of the anisotropy of thermal properties of the
composite material, specifically the large difference
between in-plane and out-of-plane thermal expansion
coefficients.
The spring-forward effect will be described, quantified
and its magnitude predicted for both long channel
sections and for a three-dimensional, double curvature
component. Measurements of distortion will be
presented, and theoretical and numerical modelling
using the finite element analysis will be developed and
used to predict the effect.
77
MATERIALS
The components considered were fabricated from
APC-2/AS4 composite. The material contains 61% by
volume Hercules AS4 continuous carbon fibres in
polyetheretherketone (PEEr) polymer. 4
The material in unidirectional form is highly
anisotropic being 13 times stiffer along the fibre / \Xx~ Sector / / \
direction than across this direction. More significantly /
/ \ \ag,e/ / \
for the present problem, the coefficient of thermal
expansion across the fibres is about half that of the neat
resin, while that along the fibre direction is virtually V /
zero. 4
a .~E.nclgsed ang l e ~
The matrix material, PEEK,is of semi-crystalline nature
with a glass transition temperature of 143°C and a
melting temperature of about 340°C. Consequently,
physical properties would be expected to vary on
cooling from the processing temperature, in excess of
380°C, to the temperature of use. It is possible to
separate the temperature range at the glass transition
temperature into two regions within which properties
are assumed to be constant. 4
When used in multi-angle laminate form, the in-plane
properties of the laminate are dependent on the chosen
fibre orientation in each ply and can be evaluated using \V/
laminate analysis. 5 Out-of-plane properties, ie those b V
through the thickness direction of the laminate, are
more difficult to assess and are assumed to be
equivalent to the properties across the fibre direction as Fig. 1 Thermally induced distortion induced in an arc section of
(a) isotropic material, and (b) an anisotropic material
determined for the unidirectional material.
Consequently, although the anisotropy of in-plane
properties may be diminished for particular lay-ups, other further while the length of each remains constant.
there will always be a large difference between this additional contraction results in an increase in the
out-of-plane properties and some in-plane properties. sector angle leading to a reduction in enclosed angle, as
illustrated in Fig. 1(b).
PH YSlCA L OBSER VA TIONS The spring-forward effect has implications when
The thermoplastic nature of the matrix material in the three-dimensional, double curvature components are
composite system being considered allows great formed. For the two-dimensional case of a channel with
flexibility in fabrication technology.6 Of the various
existing processes, hydroforming78 ' and double
diaphragm forming9' 10 have been used extensively in
the production of constant cross-section channels and
double curvature components.
When channel stiffeners of constant cross-section
incorporating an angle were formed, it was observed
that the resulting enclosed angle in the finished article
was smaller than that in the forming tool. a
Measurements on components of several cross-sections
and several balanced, symmetric material lay-ups, 11
indicate that an intended right angle decreased by one
to two degrees upon cooling. Specifically, for laminates
of [-45/0/45/90]s lay-up reductions of 1° to 1.5 ° for a
right angle were measured.
This phenomenon, referred to as spring-forward, is
attributed to the difference in coefficient of thermal
expansion in-plane and out-of-plane for the laminate.
As can be seen in Fig. l(a), the contraction upon b
cooling occurring in a curved section of isotropic
material is uniform and the overall size is reduced while
Fig. 2 Anticipated thermally induced distortion of section
the configuration is preserved. For the case of a profile for a continuous channel of (a) 'top hat' cross section,
material whose out-of-plane contraction is larger than and (b) for a complete, circular 'top hat' component (radial
that in-plane, the two curved sides will approach each section shown)

78 COMPOSITES. JANUARY 1989


Fig. 3 Observed deviation from intended flat base occurring,
upon cooling, in a 'top hat' component fabricate from
APC-2/AS4 composite
'top hat' cross-section, the final article would distort as
indicated schematically in Fig. 2(a). In the case of a full
'top hat' component, the inherent constraint imposed
on the side wall keeping it vertical leads to a dishing
effect of the intended flat base, as illustrated in Fig.
R hence eliminating the related thermal distortions. In
L assumed to be constant.
/ /
I /
V Substituting the relevant parameters in Equation 1, for
Fig. 4 Coordinate system definition used in the
development of the theoretical model applied to
an arc section
C O M P O S I T E S . J A N U A R Y 1989
2(b). The deviation from the intended flat base can be
seen in Fig. 3 and has been measured for two
components fabricated from a quasi-isotropic laminate.
The measurements indicate maximum deviations at the
centre point of the base relative to the edge of 0.4 mm
and 0.6 mm for 'top hat' components 100 mm in
diameter, i mm thick having a radius of curvature at
the corner of 8 mm.
THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT
To enable the designer and fabricator of composite
components to produce the desired articles, it is
essential that a prediction of the amount of distortion
occurring during component forming is available. A
theoretical, continuum model is available which
enables the evaluation of the magnitude of spring-
forward for an enclosed angle within the cross-section
of a channel fabricated from an anisotropic material.
For a section of arc with a sector angle 'a', a polar
coordinate system is defined as shown in Fig. 4. The
section is of locally orthotropic, homogenous material
with the axes of orthotropy coincident with the
principal directions of the defined coordinate system.
Therefore, the radial direction, 'R', represents the
through thickness direction, while the tangential
direction, ' T , coincides with the in-plane direction
around the bend. The laminate is chosen to be
symmetric and balanced, thereby eliminating any
coupling effects between modes of deformation, and
addition, the coefficient of linear thermal expansion is
The stress-strain equations of elasticity for an
orthotropic, linearly elastic solid, are solved in
conjunction with the appropriate boundary
conditions 12 to yield the relation between change, 'Aa',
in sector angle, 'a', and the problem parameters as
follows:
Aa = (OCn- OCT)aAT (1)
where OCRand OCTare coefficients of thermal expansion
in the radial and tangential directions, respectively, a is
sector angle, and A T is change in temperature from
solidification temperature (cooling represents a
positive temperature change).
Therefore, for a laminate whose out-of-plane
coefficient of thermal expansion is larger than that
in-plane, cooling results in an increase in sector angle
and, hence, a decrease in enclosed angle (Fig. 1). The
resulting relation, Equation 1, implies that the spring-
forward effect is independent of elastic properties, and
of channel thickness or any variation thereof.
When considering a right angle section made of
APC-2/AS4 of [-45/0/45/90], lay-up, the cooling range
can be divided into two regions, above and below the
glass transition temperature, and therefore, two sets of
problem parameters are used as indicated in Table 1.
each temperature range and subsequently summing the
change in angle, a total change in enclosed angle of
1.28 ° is predicted. This compares well with measured
distortions of 1° to 1.5 °.
79
Table I Problem parameters, applied in Equation (1), for a channel of right angle cross section made of
APC-2/AS4 of [-45/0/45/90]. lay up

Parameter Value at temperatures

<m,,

Coefficient of thermal expansion:

in radial direction, oER 63 x 10-6/°C 29 x 10-6/°C
in tangential direction, c~, 7.1 x 10-e/°C 2.9 x 10-8/°C
Temperature change, A T 197°C 123°C
Sector angle change, Aa 0.99°C 0.29°C
Total angle change = 1.28 °

NUMERICAL MODELLING For the purpose of validation, the technique is first

It is desirable to develop an ability to predict the
influence of the spring-forward effect on the thermal
distortion of any component, simple or complex, and to
estimate the result of interaction of this effect with
other thermally induced distortion. Although this aim
could be tackled in a similar manner as presented
above, each problem would require a separate
theoretical development. Alternatively, a generally
applicable numerical modelling technique could be
used to account for the spring-forward effect during
moulding of a composite component. An
implementation of the finite element analysis
method, 13 specifically the LUSAS software, is used
here to predict the distortion in a 'top hat' double
curvature component fabricated from a composite
laminate.
For the purpose of this analysis, the material is assumed
to be orthotropic, homogeneous and uniform within
the modelled section. The material properties are
chosen to be independent of temperature within each
region of temperature investigated.
~------"~ ~ Initial
.,,.
applied to the arc section as shown in Fig. 5, where 16,
eight-noded, isoparametric finite elements are used to
model an arc of 90° sector angle. The distortion angle
agrees identically with that predicted from Equation 1
of the previous section and consequently corresponds
to the physical observations noted earlier. In addition,
the results are found to be independent of the elastic
properties used in the analysis.
The finite element analysis technique is now utilized to
anticipate the thermal distortion occurring in the 'top
hat' component shown in Fig. 3. Because the
component is made from quasi-isotropic material, and
taking advantage of the geometrical symmetry about an
axis normal to the base and located at its centre, it is
possible to reduce the model from a full three-
dimensional one to an axi-symmetric, two-dimensional
simplification. This reduces the cost of conducting the
analysis without compromising the quality of the
results.
Maintaining the assumptions stated for the analysis of
the arc section, and employing eight-noded,
isoparametric elements formulated to account for
axi-symmetry, the 'top hat' component is analysed.
Because of the structural constraint imposed on the
distortion in the three-dimensional case, the
~ Deformed

\'x,\ Table 2 Material properties used in the FEA models

of the "top hat" component

Young's modulus:
in-plane 47 GPa
out-of-plane 8.9 GPa
Shear modulus:
in-plane 19.7 GPa
Poisson's ratio:
in-plane 0.315
out-of-plane 0.4
Coefficient of thermal expansion:
; J in-plane, (> Tg)
out-of-plane, (> Tg)
7.11 x 10-S/°C
63.2 x 10-S/°C
2.9 x 10-6/°C
in-plane, (< Tg)
Fig. 5 Finite e l e m e n t mesh d e m o n s t r a t i n g the distortion out-of-plane, (< Tg) 31.2 x 10-e/°C
occurring u p o n cooling o f an arc section of anisotropic material

80 COMPOSITES. JANUARY 1989


Deformation : dashed
0 x
Fig. 6 Outline of axi-symmetric finite element mesh
representing a 'top hat' component of anisotropic material,
distorting upon cooling from the fabrication temperature
mechanical properties employed in the model are now
significant. Difficulty in obtaining mechanical property
data at elevated temperatures necessitates estimation;
in this case properties are assumed to be constant
across the whole temperature range. The data
employed in the analysis are listed in Table 2. The
expected distorted configuration can be seen in Fig. 6.
Dividing the cooling temperature range into two
regions as discussed in the previous section, and
conducting a separate analysis for each region, a total
maximum out-of-plane displacement, at the centre of
the component, of 0.4 mm is predicted. This compares
well with the actual measurements presented earlier.
CONCLUSIONS
The combination of temperature change, from
fabrication temperature to that of use, with anisotropic
thermal distortion characteristics of composite laminate
components results in a reduction in enclosed angles
within the article. This 'spring-forward' p h e n o m e n o n
interacts with other modes of thermal distortion and
indeed with the geometrical characteristics of complex
components leading to deviation of the final product
from the intended design.
COMPOSITES. JANUARY 1989
It is possible to predict the magnitude of distortion
theoretically for simple geometries or by numerical
analysis techniques for more complex ones. Once
anticipated, the distortion can be accounted for during
design of the forming tool.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge the efforts of Mr
Tilman Menges of Stuttgart University, West Germany
in preparing the numerical analysis problems.
REFERENCES
1 Carretero, S. and Favre, J. P. Annales des Composites 4 (1983)
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AUTHORS
N. Zahlan is at the ICI Wilton Materials Research
Centre, PO Box 90, Wilton, Cleveland, TS6 8JE, UK.
J. M. O'Neill is with the Department of Theoretical
Mechanics, University of Nottingham, Nottingham,
NG7 2RD, UK. Enquiries should be addressed to Mr
Zahlan.
81