Francois Robitaille

 

 

Biographic Information

 

and Research Interests

 

Research Interests

Opportunities for Post-Graduates and Undergraduates

Publications

Collaborations and Sponsors

 

 

Research Interests

 

Processing & Performance: Technical Textiles

Part of my research work deals with predictive modelling of the processing and performance properties of technical textiles. This work is based on a geometric modelling formalism that I proposed. That formalism has a unique characteristic: it can model the geometry of virtually any textile in one single way, using the same mathematical tools. Therefore, subsequent models – sets of equations – that are developed to predict physical properties can be applied to any textile, regardless of its manufacturing process. The geometric modeller TexGen was implemented in collaboration with colleagues at Nottingham, with whom I continue to collaborate on physical property prediction.

 

Processing & Performance: Polymer Composites

One of the applications of the above work has to do with the design and manufacturing of composite parts. Simulation software for the injection of resin through textile preforms has been around for many years; similarly, industrialists now have a good grasp of design for composite materials using finite element. In both cases meaningful simulations require accurate and extensive data: either fields of local permeability tensors, local stiffness tensors and/or local failure envelopes. As such data cannot realistically be obtained from measurement for any prospective combination of industrial fabrics, the objective is to go one step further in simulation and provide this data through predictive numerical methods, including factors such as the variability. These ‘sub-simulations’ require methods where speed is much increased.

 

Manufacturing of Large Composite Structures

One industrial application of the above for which I have much interest is the manufacturing of large composite parts. My experience of this, including support for the production of a composite lorry trailer, shows that usage of extensive data is an absolute requirement to accurate or useful simulations.

 

Multi-Scale, Multi-Physics Modelling of Materials

One key aspect of the behaviour of technical textiles and textile preforms used for composite manufacturing is that their finer geometry strongly affects other properties such as the permeability or heat transfer characteristics. In turn these properties behave more or less as functions of each other, with say the permeability to gas affecting heat transfer through the textile. As the finer geometry of textiles is generally not set, predicting any property often requires multi-physics modelling.

 

Novel Applications for Technical Textiles

One of the long-term aims in developing capabilities to predict the properties of virtually any technical textile is to enable true computer-based design of novel solutions to any problem involving these engineering materials. This ongoing work aims at simulating actual industrial materials and is not limited to generic, simpler forms such as dry weaves.

 

Materials and Design

The above work is part of a strong interest in materials, design and manufacturing. Whilst my research interests focus on numerical modelling and property measurement for technical textiles and textile composites, upon doing design I give equal consideration to other materials solutions and the numerous ways in which different materials system may best interact towards stated objectives for each application. Many important considerations such as joining, shaping, stress transfer etc. must be looked into when designing multi-materials solutions, which in themselves constitute important and challenging research areas.

 

Opportunities for Post-Graduates and Undergraduates

 

Individuals with an interest towards post-graduate research on related areas leading to an MScA or PhD are welcome to contact me via email. Note that you must also apply electronically to the Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, which manages all graduate applications in Mechanical Engineering for the University of Ottawa and Ottawa-Carleton University.

 

When applying to OCIMAE please specify my name as your preferred supervisor, so that your file will reach me directly in addition to being directed to a candidate selection list. You can specify up to three preferred supervisors if you identify other areas of interest to you.

 

 

Publications

 

Articles in refereed journals:

 

1.   Use of resin transfer moulding simulation to predict flow, saturation and compaction in the VARTM process. Correia NC, Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD, Simacek P, Advani SG. Journal of Fluids Engineering - Transactions of the ASME:, 126(2), 210-215, 2004

2.   The effect of interlaminar toughening strategies on the energy absorption of composite tubes. Warrior NA, Turner TA, Robitaille F, Rudd CD. Composites Part A - Applied Science and Manufacturing, 35(4), 431-437, 2004

3.   Automatically generated geometric descriptions of textile and composite unit cells. Robitaille F, Long AC, Jones IA, Rudd CD. Composites Part A - Applied Science and Manufacturing, 34(4), 302-312, 2003

4.   Effect of resin properties and processing parameters on crash energy absorbing composite structures made by RTM. Warrior NA, Turner TA, Robitaille F, Rudd CD. Composites Part A - Applied Science and Manufacturing, 34(6), 543-550, 2003

5.   Geometric modelling of textiles for prediction of composite processing and performance characteristics. Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD. Plastics, Rubber and Composites, 31(2), 66-75, 2002

6.   Effect of resin formulation on crash energy absorbing composite structures made by RTM. Turner TA, Robitaille F, Warrior NA, Rudd CD, Cooper EJ. Plastics, Rubber and Composites, 31(2), 49-57, 2002

7.   Effects of fibre architecture on reinforcement fabric deformation. Long AC, Souter BJ, Robitaille F, Rudd CD. Plastics, Rubber and Composites, 31(2), 87-97, 2002

8.   Permeability prediction for industrial preforms. Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD. Plastics, Rubber and Composites, 31(6), 238-248, 2002

9.   Mechanical modelling of in-plane shear and draping for woven and non-crimp reinforcements. Long AC, Robitaille F, Souter BJ. Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials, 14(4), 316-326, 2001

10. Geometric modelling of industrial preforms: warp-knitted textiles. Robitaille F, Clayton BR, Long AC, Souter BJ, Rudd CD. Journal of Materials: Design and Applications – Proceedings of the IMechE Part L, 214, 71-90, 2000

11. Geometric modelling of industrial preforms: woven and braided textiles. Robitaille F, Clayton BR, Long AC, Souter BJ, Rudd CD. Journal of Materials: Design and Applications – Proceedings of the IMechE Part L, 213, 69-83, 1999

12. Effect of fibre architecture on deformation during preform manufacture. Long AC, Souter BJ, Robitaille F, Rudd CD. Advanced Composites Letters, 8(6), 333-344, 1999

13. Compaction of textile reinforcements for composites manufacturing. III: Reorganization of the fiber network. Robitaille F, Gauvin R. Polymer Composites, 20(1), 48-61, 1999

14. Compaction of textile reinforcements for composites manufacturing. II: Compaction and relaxation of dry and H2O-saturated woven reinforcements. Robitaille F, Gauvin R. Polymer Composites, 19(5), 543-557, 1998

15. Compaction of textile reinforcements for composites manufacturing. I: Review of experimental results. Robitaille F, Gauvin R. Polymer Composites, 19(2), 198-216, 1998

16. Analysis of the vacuum infusion moulding process: 1. Analytical formulation. Correia NC, Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD, Simacek P, Advani SG. Submitted to Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 2004

17. Influence of stochastic fibre angle variations on the permeability of bi-directional textile fabrics. Endruweit A, Long AC, Robitaille F, Rudd CD. Submitted to Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 2004

18. Comparisons of novel and efficient approaches for permeability prediction based on the fabric architecture. Wong CC, Long AC, Sherburn M, Robitaille F, Harrison P, Rudd CD. Submitted to Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 2004

 

Contributions to refereed conference proceedings:

 

19. Geometric pre-processor for the calculation of physical properties of textiles. Sherburn M, Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD. Proc. ISC-2004 (Industrial Simulation Conference, Spn. EUROSIS: European Society for Modelling and Simulation Technology) Malaga, Spain, June 2004

20. Predictive modelling and performance properties of textile composite unit cells: current status and perspectives. Robitaille F, Long AC, Sherburn M, Wong CC, Rudd CD. Proc. ECCM-11 (European Conf. on Composite Materials, Spn. ESCM: European Society for Composite Materials) Rodos, Greece, May 2004

21. Dependence of permeability variations on the textile structure. Endruweit A, Long AC, Robitaille F, Rudd CD. Proc. ECCM-11 (Details above)

22. Investigation of a novel vacuum bag design for the vacuum infusion process. Ragondet A, Correia NC, Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD. Proc. ECCM-11 (Details above)

23. Fabrication methods for crash energy absorbing composite structures. Warrior NA, Rudd CD, Turner TA, Robitaille F. Proc. 25th SAMPE-Europe Annual Conf. (Spn. Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering), Paris, France, March 2004

24. Modelling the effect of fibre architecture on permeability for textile preforms. Long AC, Wong CC, Sherburn M, Robitaille F. Proc. 25th SAMPE-Europe Annual Conf. (Details above)

25. Systematic predictive permeability modelling using commercial CFD and dedicated calculation method. Robitaille F, Long AC, Wong CC, Rudd CD. Proc. ICCM-14 (Intl. Conf. on Composite Materials, Spn. SME: Society of Manufacturing Engineers), San Diego, CA USA, July 2003

      Also published as Technical Paper EM03-377, Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

26. A systematic study of the mechanical properties of textile composite unit cells based on geometric modelling. Crookston J, Robitaille F, Long AC, Jones IA, Ooi J. Proc. ICCM-14 (Details above)

27. Modelling strategies for textile composites. Long AC, Robitaille F, Rudd CD, Jones IA. Proc. ICCM-14 (Details above)

      Also published as Technical Paper EM03-371, Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

28. Analytical and numerical studies into the vacuum infusion process: in-plane flow in compressible porous media. Correia NC, Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD. Proc. ICCM-14 (Details above)

29. Analytical and numerical modelling of vacuum infusion. Long AC, Correia NC, Ragondet A, Robitaille F, Rudd CD. Proc. 24th SAMPE-Europe Annual Conf. (Spn. Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering), Paris, France, April 2003

30. Automated generation of tow envelopes and inter-tow volumes for composite unit cell modelling. Robitaille F, Long AC, Jones IA, Crookston JJ, Rudd CD. Proc. TexComp-6 (Intl. Conf. on Textile Composites, Spn. KULeuven), Philadelphia, PA USA, September 2002

31. Experimental investigation and modelling of the vacuum infusion process.  Ragondet A, Correia NC, Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD. Proc. ECCM-10 (European Conf. on Composite Materials, Spn. ESCM: European Society for Composite Materials), Bruges, Belgium, June 2002

32. Use of resin transfer molding simulation to predict flow, saturation and compaction in the VARTM process. Correia NC, Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD, Simacek P, Advani SG. Proc. ASME/IMECE 2002 (American Society of Mechanical Engineers/Intl. Mechanical Engineering Congress and Expositions, Spn. ASME), New Orleans, LA USA, November 2002

33. Effect of the processing parameters on crash energy absorbing composite structures made by RTM. Turner TA, Warrior NA, Robitaille F, Rudd CD, Cooper EJ. Proc. ICMAC 2001 (Intl. Conf. on Manufacturing of Advanced Composites, Spn. IoM: The Institute of Materials), Belfast, UK, September 2001

34. TEXFLOW: software for efficient permeability characterisation of industrial preforms. Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD, Souter BJ. Proc. ICMAC 2001 (Details above)

35. Permeability prediction for industrial textile preforms. Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD. Proc. PPS-17 (17th Annual Meeting of the Polymer Processing Society, Spn. PPS), Montreal, Canada, May 2001

36. Permeability prediction for sheared, compacted textiles during liquid composite moulding. Long AC, Robitaille F, Souter BJ, Rudd CD. Proc. ICCM-13 (Intl. Conf. on Composite Materials, Spn. SME: Society of Manufacturing Engineers), Beijing, China, June 2001

37. A fabric mechanics approach to draping of woven and non-crimp reinforcement. Long AC, Souter BJ, Robitaille F. Proc. 15th ASC Annual Technical Conf. (Spn. American Society for Composites), College Station, TX USA, September 2000

38. Prediction of reinforcement permeability from a textile geometric model. Long AC,  Robitaille F, Souter BJ, Rudd CD. Proc. TexComp-5 (Intl. Conf. on Textile Composites, Spn. KULeuven), Leuven, Belgium, September 2000

39. Permeability modelling of industrial preforms: simulations and practical aspects. Robitaille F, Long AC, Souter BJ, Rudd CD. Proc. ECCM-9 (European Conf. on Composite Materials, Spn. ESCM: European Society for Composite Materials) Brighton, UK, June 2000

40. Modelling the influence of reinforcement architecture on formability. Souter BJ, Long AC, Robitaille F, Rudd CD. Proc. ECCM-9 (Details above)

41. Applications of fiber architecture modeling for engineered preforms. Long AC, Robitaille F, Souter BJ, Rudd CD. Proc. 1999 SAMPE/ACCE/DOE Automotive Composites Conf. and Exhibition (Spn. Society for the Advancement of Material and Process, US Department of Energy) Detroit, MI USA, September 1999

42. The influence of fabric mechanics on draping. Souter BJ, Long AC, Robitaille F, Rudd CD. Proc ICAC-99 (Intl. Conf. on Automated Composites, Spn. IoM: The Institute of Materials), Bristol, UK, September 1999

43. Effects of fibre architecture on deformation during preform manufacture. Long AC, Souter BJ, Robitaille F, Rudd CD. Proc. ICCM-12 (Intl. Conf. on Composite Materials, Spn. SME: Society of Manufacturing Engineers), Paris, France, July 1999

44. A predictive model for drape and flow analysis of industrial textile preforms. Robitaille F, Souter BJ, Long AC, Rudd CD. Proc. ICAC-98 (Intl. Conf. on Advanced Composites, Spn. Auburn University, Ain-Shamis University), Hurgadah, Egypt, December 1998

45. The measurement of in-plane permeability for sheared preforms. Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD, Souter BJ. Proc. CADCOMP-6 (Computer Methods in Composite Materials), Montreal, Canada, August 1998

46. Compaction and relaxation of dry and saturated textile reinforcements: theory and experimental results. Robitaille F, Gauvin R. Proc. ECCM-8 (European Conf. on Composite Materials, Spn. ESCM: European Society for Composite Materials), Napoli, Italy, June 1998

47. A geometrical model for textile preforms. Robitaille F, Souter BJ, Long AC, Rudd CD. Proc. 19th SAMPE-Europe Annual Conf. (Spn. Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering), Paris, France, April 1998.

48. Compaction properties of textile reinforcements in flexible-wall molding and other RTM-derived processes. Robitaille F, Gauvin R.       Proc. ICCE-4 (Intl. Conf. Composites Engineering, Spn. Intl. Community for Composites Engineering), Kona, Hawaii, USA, July 1997

49. Effect of the fluid on the compaction properties of fiber reinforcements in composites processing. Robitaille F, Gauvin R. Proc. ANTEC-97 (SPE Annual Technical Conference,  Spn. Society of Plastics Engineers), Toronto, Canada, April 1997

50. Optimum consolidation of prepreg thermoplastic composites using statistical experiment-planning methods. Vovor T, Robitaille F, Gauvin R. Proc. SAMPE1994 (39th Symposium & Exhibition, Spn. Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering), Anaheim, California, USA, April 1994

 

Contributions to non-refereed conference proceedings:

 

51. Analysis of the flow enhancement medium used in the vacuum infusion process. Ragondet A, Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD. Proc. Comptest 2003 (Intl. Conf. Composites Testing and Model Identification, Spn. ENSAM), Chalons-en-Champagne, France, September 2003

52. Modelling the vacuum infusion of composite materials. Correia NC, Ragondet A, Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD. Proc. FRC-9 2002, (Intl. Conf. Fibre Reinforced Composites, Spn. IMechE & IoM), Newcastle, UK, March 2002

53. Experimental investigation on the vacuum infusion process. Ragondet A, Correia N, Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD. Proc. FRC-9 2002, (Intl. Conf. Fibre Reinforced Composites, Spn. IMechE & IoM), Newcastle, UK, March 2002

54. Geometric description of woven and warp-knitted industrial reinforcements for the calculation of preform deformation and flow properties. Souter BJ, Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD. Automotive Composites Workshop 98, Spn. IoM, Brands Hatch, UK, December 1998

55. Effet du fluide sur les propriétés en compaction des renforts textiles pour pièces composites. Robitaille F, Gauvin R. Proc. CANCAM-97 (Congrès canadien de mécanique appliquée), Quebec City, Canada, June 1997

 

Co-authored book chapters:

 

56. Modelling of textile reinforcements. Chapter co-authored by Verpoest I, Lomov SV, Robitaille F for book Design and Manufacture of Textile Composites, currently edited for Woodhead Publishing UK by Prof. AC Long, University of Nottingham (andrew.long@ nottingham.ac.uk)

57. Mechanical analysis of textiles. Chapter co-authored by Boisse P, Long AC, Robitaille F for book Design and Manufacture of Textile Composites, currently edited for Woodhead Publishing UK by Prof. AC Long, University of Nottingham

 

PhD thesis supervised (completed and successfully defended):

 

58. Analysis of the vacuum infusion moulding process, NC Correia, PhD thesis, School of Mechanical, Materials, Manufacturing Engineering and Management, University of Nottingham, UK, July 2004

 

Participation in product development and industrial R&D activity:

 

59. Draping of the RoadLite demonstrator. Robitaille F, Long AC, Correia NC, Wiggers J,  Ragondet A, Rudd CD. Technical report detailing solutions for the manufacturing of textile preforms for a prototype composite lorry trailer. Prepared for Giles Fryett & Robin Mableson, Vosper Thornycroft plc, Portsmouth, UK, October 2002

60. Permeability measurements on F3P preforms for Aston Martin Vanquish side panels. Robitaille F, Ragondet A, Rudd CD. Technical report on measured data required for moulding simulations of automotive composite body panels. Prepared for Jeff Dahl & Ken Kendall, Ford Research Labs, Detroit MI USA, July 2001

61. Simulation of the impregnation of super-conducting magnet coils. Part 2: Interim report. Robitaille F, Earls T. Technical report on simulations of resin infusion for magnet coils used in magnetic resonance imaging devices. Prepared for Graham Knight, Oxford Magnet Technology plc, Whitney, OX UK, December 1999

62. Simulation of the impregnation and curing of super-conducting magnet coils. Part 1: Feasibility study. Robitaille F, Hargreaves DM, Long AC, Rudd CD, Wright NG. Technical report on simulations of resin infusion for magnet coils used in magnetic resonance imaging devices. Prepared for Graham Knight, Oxford Magnet Technology plc, Whitney, OX UK, April 1999

63. Simulations of the manufacturing of structural composite parts for Aston Martin Vanquish. Robitaille F, Rudd CD, Warrior NA, Long AC. Technical report on the design of injection gates for moulds used in production of automotive composite parts. Prepared for Ken Kendall, Ford Research Labs, Detroit MI USA, February 1999

 

Software development:

 

64. TexGen, Textile Geometry Modelling Software. Shared intellectual property rights with Long AC, Rudd CD, Sherburn M. Programming by University of Nottingham PhD student Martin Sherburn. Software at pre-commercial stage.

 

Collaborations and Sponsors

 

The University of Nottingham Polymer Composites Group