Analysis of Thermomechanical Behavior of the Tubular Braided Fabrics with Flax/Polyamide Commingled Yarns.

Flax fibers are widely used as the strongest natural fibers in composite parts with advanced structures. Due to their excellent mechanical properties and recyclability, they have attracted more attention from the aviation and automotive industries, etc. These composite parts are usually obtained by preforming reinforcements or prepregs at high temperatures, and their mechanical behaviors are greatly affected by temperature variations.

Simulation of multi-curve active catheterization for endovascular navigation to complex targets.

The recent development of endovascular therapies has been accompanied by increasingly accurate navigation simulations to assist surgeons in decision making processes or to produce training tools. However, they have been focused mostly on targets within the aortic vasculature. In order to reach complex targets such as cerebral arteries by endovascular navigation, an active guidewire made of a Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) was recently proposed.

Numerical simulation of wave propagation through interfaces using the extended finite element method for magnetic resonance elastography.

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is an elasticity imaging technique for quantitatively assessing the stiffness of human tissues. In MRE, finite element method (FEM) is widely used for modeling wave propagation and stiffness reconstruction. However, in front of inclusions with complex interfaces, FEM can become burdensome in terms of the model partition and computationally expensive.

Simulation of Wrinkling during Bending of Composite Reinforcement Laminates.

When a thick laminate is subjected to bending, under certain boundary conditions, wrinkles may appear and develop due to the inextensibility of the fibers. Wrinkling is one of the most critical defects in composite manufacturing. Numerical simulation of the onset and growth of such wrinkles is an important tool for defining optimal process parameters.

Consolidation Modeling during Thermoforming of Thermoplastic Composite Prepregs.

This article describes the modeling of the compaction/consolidation behavior of thermoplastic composite prepregs during the thermoforming process. The proposed model is principally based on a generalized Maxwell approach. Within a hyperelastic framework, viscoelasticity is introduced for the compaction mode in addition to the in-plane shearing mode by taking into account the influence of the resin and its flow during consolidation.