Experimental preforming of highly double curved shapes with a case corner using an interlock reinforcement

This experimental work concerns the study of the preforming of a specific highly double curved geometry with a triple point (case corner) by the sheet forming process using powdered interlock reinforcement (G1151®). Three different punches (square box, prism, tetrahedron) were used in this study, each of them presenting highly double curved geometry with a case corner. A specific sheet forming device specially designed for the preforming of textile reinforcement was used. The expected shapes with the three punches have been obtained with an optimized blank-holder pressure. No classical defaults such as wrinkling or yarn damage are present in the useful zone of the preforms. However, a new default, not observed for spherical or hemispherical shape has been identified. It concerns the out of plane buckling of yarns. This phenomenon not observed on the square box is visible on some faces and edges of the prismatic and tetrahedron shapes. For the square box, it is easily possible to control the orientation of the yarn within the preform in the faces, whereas this is not possible for triangular faces of the prismatic and tetrahedron shapes. The square box punch is therefore more adapted to preform the highly doubled curved shape with the case corner.