A team of researchers from Wichita State University’s National Institute of Aviation
Research (NIAR) received second place in the Outstanding Technical Paper Awards from
the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE).
While automated fiber placement techniques have significantly boosted the production
speed of advanced composite structures, they often introduce manufacturing defects—especially
when fibers are steered along complex contours. To address this challenge, researchers
at NIAR ATLAS employed fiber patch placement, a multi-robotic method designed to streamline
the deposition of fiber patches onto intricate geometries. This hybrid approach aims
to reduce defects while meeting the high throughput demands of manufacturing geometrically
complex composite parts.
"Fiber patch placement technology enhances automated manufacturing by bridging the
gap between high-speed production and the demands of fabricating geometrically complex
fiber composite parts," said Dr. Seneviratne. "This paper showcases the design and
optimization process using a realistic structural example, demonstrating the method’s
practical applicability and potential for industrial adoption."
The paper will be presented by the research team at the SAMPE Conference and Exhibition
in Indianapolis on Thursday, May 22 at 9:30 a.m. Awards for SAMPE’s Outstanding Technical
Papers will be presented at an awards breakfast, also on Thursday, May 22.
Seneviratne’s team will present four additional papers at the conference including Certification of Thermoplastic Welding System for Aircraft
Applications, Automated Fiber Placement of Ceramic Matrix Composites for Hot Structures,
and Triaixial Overbraiding of Complex Composite Structures Using Melt-out Mandrels,
and Process Development and Quality Assurance of Material Slitting for Automated Fiber
Placement.
