Research on fiber reinforced composites and sandwich

structures

- HABILITATION THESIS -

Gabriel-Gheorghe JIGA, Ph.D., Eng.

University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest

Strength of Materials Department
Faculty of Engineering and Management of Technological Systems

2015

The habilitation thesis summarizes the results obtained by the author, in the
scientific activity, after sustaining his PhD thesis, in 1997. This research activity, carried
out in the Department of Strength of Materials in the frame of the Faculty of Engineering
and Management of Technological Systems, University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest,
was evidenced by a total of 29 papers published in Thomson Reuters database - Web
of Science and presented at several international conferences, being published in ISI
Proceedings or in ISI journals with impact factor. In the publishing activity to be
mentioned in the same time that the candidate is the author of over 10 papers in
SCOPUS and INSPEC database and of a monograph of 300 pages titled
“Fundamentals in composite materials mechanics” published in Atlas Press printing
house.
The portfolio of achievements on which the present thesis is structured rejoices a
good international visibility, receiving until now more than 35 citations identified by
Google Scholar and 59 citations identified by ISI – Web of Science, conferring to the
author a Hirsch index H = 6, calculated by Google Scholar and a Hirsch index H = 4
calculated by ISI – Thomson Reuters.
Since the individual scientific research activity in the frame of the doctoral
program where the candidate worked was closely related to the field of composite
materials, one of the covered areas results as a continuation of research undertaken in
the PhD thesis.
A first subject of the habilitation thesis was performed to underline the
importance of the study of discontinuities in laminated composite structures and to
present a methodology of approach. The case of layered composite plates has been
selected from the large field of discontinuities met in engineering practice.
 Damage of composite materials structures subjected to impact represents a
major concern in the field of research because these degradations can occur during the
life of the structure, the mechanical properties can be altered dramatically. A number of
studies have been undertaken by the author to predict material damage and residual
post-impact properties. In the paper "Impact of Residual Tensile Strength after Woven
Glass / Polyester Reinforced Composites" the author created a model, previously
validated for different types of composite structures, which has been used to assess the
residual tensile strength of laminated composite fabrics. In the proposed model several
parameters such as number of layers, impact energy or stacking sequence have been
taken in consideration. The thickness of the laminated composite on the residual tensile
strength and on the impact energy threshold was also analyzed.
A third aspect of scientific research in the field of composite materials was
related to investigate the effect of different stress levels on the creep and recovery
behavior of polymer-matrix composites. Four hours creep followed by two hours
recovery tests were performed to woven GFRP specimens at five different stress levels
corresponding to five different percentages of ultimate static strength. Since the
behavior was linear viscoelastic, a four element viscoelastic model was applied. In
addition, the viscoelastic behavior observed was correlated with the degree of damage
generated due to creep and its variation with the applied stress levels.
In the frame of researches undertaken in the field of composite materials a fourth
detailed study was performed to evaluate the damage of a carbon polymeric composite
caused by the hygrothermal fatigue phenomenon. The damage was assessed both in
terms of determining the stress and strain state of the structure as well as the state of
interlaminar shear stress in a sandwich structure at the interface between the core,
made of a carbon fiber reinforced composite and aluminum skins. In the same domain I
have also performed an analysis on the viscoelastic behavior of a glass-epoxy
composite, in order to investigate the effect of different levels of creep and stress
relaxation and to analyze the correlation between the damage extension due to creep
and its development according to the different levels of applied stress.
A second area of research resulted in a CEEX project gained by competition and
entitled ELMOSTPRO. One of the strategic goals of this project was to create a strong
consortium of research and implementation of protective safety guardrails. In this
project, the author has proposed a modification of the safety barrier structure modifying
as well the components material and equipment, with superior mechanical and elastic
properties and minimum consumption of material and workmanship. Intended use of
new types of materials and equipment was to increase strength capacity and impact
energy absorption, in order to enhance traffic safety. Based on the presentation of the
most common types of protective guardrails there have been proposed several
improved versions in order to mitigate the shock during the impact with a vehicle; this
comparative study between the current existing version and an enhanced version
barrier, using leaf springs and rubber rollers acting as shock dampers has been
analyzed using FEM. The new types of suggested materials should be used
successfully to rehabilitate the damaged crash barriers to some extent; in areas with
high vulnerability on certain road sections, the existing metal guardrails should be
reinforced with the new proposed structures in the above - mentioned project .
As director of the ELMOSTPRO project the candidate was responsible for the
successful implementation of project activities and for the achievement of the planned
results in project, managing the involved team in order to have a good project
development.
The use of sandwich structures has gained nowadays an important place, due to
their important role in the structural components of the aircraft industry and not only.
Advances in polymer science and manufacturing processes have extended their use in
a wide range of applications (automotive industry, civil engineering, sport, leisure etc.),
since these materials, while arranged in different combinations, bring a series of
advantages focused on the mechanical performances and forms of design. Over the
past few years, the range of applications of different types of foam became increasingly
larger because design engineers insisted on changing the microstructure of materials, in
order to obtain improved mechanical properties.
Given that the collision with various objects represent a frequently factor which
occurs in the exploitation of different sandwich components, the authors considered that
the impact energy absorbed by the structure as well as the damage mitigation represent
two essential aspects to be taken into consideration. In automotive industry, conflicting
requirements with respect to saving weight and increasing vehicle crashworthiness at
the same time, pose a major challenge in automotive design. Many devices have been
designed to study impact energy absorption during a collision and hence protect the
vehicle components and passengers. In this context, through combination of traditional
materials (steel, aluminum) with different types of foams of low density, the candidate
performed a series of FEM modeling in order to evaluate the impact energy absorption
during a collision with low speed.
The candidate won by competition the POSDRU/161/2.1/G/136467 project “The
first steps towards a successfully carrier” - PRIMUS occupying actually the position of
project manager and has been also included as a member of the management team in
other two projects – POSDRU/86/1.2/S/56872 “Interuniversity virtual community for
science, technology, innovation and exploitation of intellectual property” -CVIU and
POSDRU/19/1.3/G/6508 “Development of carriers in education through human resource
development” - CIFRU.
The candidate is actually vice-dean of IMST faculty, responsible with
international affairs and PR and, in this context, is one of the founding members of a
new specialization in English, entitled “Industrial engineering” in the frame of Faculty of
Engineering and Management of Technical Systems from University POLITEHNICA of
Bucharest.