Grid stiffened panel made by Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) in-situ consolidation of thermoplastic composites

Grid stiffened panels offer significant potential for weight savings, which has led to an increased focus on their research. A novel method is presented for fabricating thermoplastic composites consisting of skins and grids through the Automated Fiber Placement technique and in-situ consolidation. The technique improves the flatness of the center in the cross-shaped structure. This step is critical since any irregularity in this area caused by material overlapping would negatively impact the mechanical functionality of such structures. The manufactured structure is subjected to a 5-point bending test to evaluate its mechanical properties and failure behaviour. (c) 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).