Research on Fiber Placement Trajectory Design Algorithm for the Free-Form Surface with Given Ply Orientation Information

Aiming at the traditional fixed-angle trajectory design methods in automatic composite fiber placement, a novel trajectory design algorithm based on given ply orientation information of the free-form surface is proposed. Firstly, the initial reference path is constructed with the given points and modified fiber-placement directions that are calculated by weighted average algorithm. Then, “feature section” method is carried out to solve the full-spreadability issue and all other center paths are generated by the parallel equidistant path generation method based on geodesic theory of the classic differential geometry. Finally, the Newton-Raphson iteration algorithm is applied to solve the intersection issue between fiber path and boundary, which can realize the integrated placement at the boundary area. Based on the above algorithms, the CAD module of the trajectory planning for the free-form surface with given ply orientation information is developed with the environment of CATIA V5R18, and is validated by simulations. The results show that the above algorithms can accomplish the trajectory design based on the ply orientation information and make a positive exploration on the variable angle trajectory design in automatic fiber placement.