PhD title for Yannick Buser

Yannick Buser successfully defended his PhD thesis "Predicting Induction Heating of Tape-Based Thermoplatic Composites - the Role of Orthotropic Electrical Conductiviy" on February 25th. His research advances both the predictability and robustness of the induction welding process for tape-based thermoplastic composite (TPC) components.

Induction welding is a widely used technique for efficiently assembling TPC aerospace structures. While it has seen commercial success with woven fabric-reinforced TPCs, its adoption for UD ply-based components remains limited. Yannick's work addresses this challenge by developing a physics-based numerical simulation to accurately predict induction heating in UD ply-based composites.

His research investigates induction heating patterns in carbon-reinforced PEEK and PEKK laminates and characterizes the orthotropic electrical conductivity of UD plies and laminates. The material data is then integrated into a numerical model to predict the induction heating response of flat laminates. The simulations prove effective for providing an accurate estimate of the induction heating response of tape-based TPCs. Finally, the validated numerical modelling framework was used to conduct a sensitivity analysis on the induction heating patterns. The analysis shows that improving the through-thickness electrical conductivity of UD plies leads to a more stable heating rate during induction heating, enhancing the robustness of the welding process.

This research project was part of the 'Connecting industries' framework which is funded by NWO (Dutch Research Council), the University of Twente, and TPRC. Prof.dr.ir. Remko Akkerman and dr.ir. Wouter Grouve from the Production Technology research group at the University of Twente supervised the PhD project.

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Photos by ©Gijs van Ouwerkerk