Experimental investigation of NCF-on-tool contact

Abstract

The true fibre contact length for NCF-on-tool contact was measured for an area of 8.29 mm × 11.54 mm over a range of normal pressures using microscopy. Contact length was approximately 67% lower than for unidirectional tow-on-tool contact at the same nominal pressure (240 kPa). This is because NCF stitching and gaps between tows significantly reduce fibre contact length compared to tow-on-tool fibre contact measurements. A Hertzian approach was used to estimate contact area from contact length.