College
College of Engineering and Polymer Science
Date of Last Revision
2023-05-09 09:51:44
Major
Aerospace Systems Engineering
Honors Course
Aerospace Design Project
Number of Credits
2
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science
Date of Expected Graduation
Spring 2023
Abstract
This work explores a custom air atmospheric pressure plasma treatment (APPT) machine’s effectiveness in cleaning and chemically activating a CFRP surface. It is explore by implementing water contact angle (WCA) measurements, water-break free (WBF) testing, and adhesive tubular lap-joint (TLJ) tensile testing. An 8x3 test matrix of different machine parameters is defined with the bounding conditions being the machine’s capabilities and industry standard recommendations. Each configuration of the test matrix is explored after treatment at multiple time intervals up to 2 weeks afterwards to gain insight into the outlife of the treatments with the intention of adhesively bonding to the surfaces. Multiple data analysis processes such as one-way ANOVA studies, box and whisker plot interpretations, and visualizations of (24) different process parameters at once are performed to understand the custom plasma machine’s effect on the surface of the CFRP components.
Results show that treatments that are closer to the tube are best for uniformly treating the surface which is supported with all of the tests performed. It is also shown that there is a statistical difference between the surface chemistry of different CFRP tows visible on the surface of the CFRP tube.
Research Sponsor
Manigandan Kannan
First Reader
Isaiah Kaiser
Second Reader
Karl Bates
Honors Faculty Advisor
Scott Sawyer
Proprietary and/or Confidential Information
Yes
Recommended Citation
Ferguson, Ryan, "Surface Preparation Study" (2023). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 1732.
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/1732