Analysis and Verification on Buckling Mechanism of Spatial Tow Steering in Automated Fiber Placement

Abstract Automated fiber placement (AFP) enables the efficient and precise fabrication of complex-shaped aerospace composite structures with lightweight and high-performance properties. However, due to the excessive compression on the inner edge of the tow placed along the curved trajectory, the resulting defects represented by buckling and wrinkles in spatial tow steering can induce poor manufacturing accuracy and quality degradation of products. In this paper, a theoretical model of tow buckling based on the first-order shear deformation laminate theory, linear elastic adhesion interface and Hertz compaction contact theory is proposed to analyze the formation mechanism of the wrinkles and predict the formation of defects by solving the critical radius of the trajectory, and finite element analysis involving the cohesive zone modeling (CZM) is innovated to simulate the local buckling state of the steered tow in AFP. Additionally, numerical parametric studies and experimental results indicate that mechanical properties and geometric parameters of the prepreg, the curvature of the placement trajectory and critical process parameters have a significant impact on buckling formation, and optimization of process parameters can achieve effective suppression of placement defects. This research proposes a theoretical modeling method for tow buckling, and conducts in-depth research on defect formation and suppression methods based on finite element simulation and placement experiments.