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International audience; This article presents the results of research on sandwich materials manufactured by liquid resin infusion and designed to resist in low-velocity/low-energy impact applications. The sandwich plates are made of composites skins (GFRP) on a foam core. A manufacturing method was designed to produce samples in a one-shot process. Four manufacturing parameters were selected and combined: resin’s temperature, preform’s temperature, hardener type, and presence of nanoscaled additives. Their influences on the behavior of the samples during impact and the resulting damages were investigated. For each manufactured plate, nine samples were impacted with a 10 J drop-weight tower. Impacted samples were inspected with two nondestructive testing methods, visual inspection and infrared thermography. Samples were cut afterward to confirm conclusions and observe in-depth damages. Two impact behaviors and three damage types have been identified among all tested samples. The impact properties of the samples can be directly linked to the processing conditions. To ensure uniform mechanical properties, plates should be manufactured with isothermal conditions (same temperature in the preform and in the resin). If the manufacturing temperature is high enough, there is no significant influence on the impact behavior of the sandwich samples using slow or standard hardener. The higher the infusion temperature is, the more brittle the resulting composite. With nanoadditives in isothermal conditions, the resin’s viscosity is much higher, leading to a longer infusion and nonuniform properties.

In order to obtain the optimal technological parameters of lettuce vacuum osmotic dehydration, the effects of osmotic temperature, slice thickness, sucrose concentration, and vacuum degree on the vacuum osmotic dehydration were explored. The lettuce water loss rate and solid gain rate decreased with the increase of slice thickness and vacuum degree, and increased with the increase of sucrose concentration and osmotic temperature. Response surface methodology was applied to analyze the influence of the four influential factors on the evaluated parameters and the optimization of lettuce vacuum osmotic dehydration was studied. The results indicated that, within the experimental scope, the optimized technological parameters of lettuce vacuum osmotic dehydration are the temperature of 28°C, the slice thickness of 2 mm, sucrose concentration of 47%, the vacuum degree of 22 kPa, and the water loss rate and solid gain rate are 72.16% and 11.82%, respectively.

In a previous study, prototypes for heavy military equipment (>600kg) transportation by helicopters were developed. Based on sandwich composite structures, these materials showed promising results in terms of weight reduction and load bearing capabilities, but weaknesses were observed during low velocity/low energy impact solicitations. During this PhD project, we aimed at optimizing sandwich structure's resistance to impacts, by studying elaboration parameter's influences of an industrial production method on impact behaviors. A bibliographic review showed critical parameters for this project's feasibility. We chose to use the Liquid Resin Infusion as the elaboration process; this technique is commonly used in the industry, and is suited for small production structures. State of the art also showed impact resistance improving methods for sandwich structures, in terms of processing conditions. A particular elaboration method was designed, to produce sandwich structures in a one-shot process. In this study, and with this method, four sets of parameters were selected: elaboration temperatures, matrix types, core's surface nature, and whether or not the matrix contained nanoscaled additives. Several combinations of these parameters were used to produce sandwich panels, which were cut in samples, to be impacted on a drop-weight tower. Preliminary testing allowed to determine representative impact conditions, similar to real-life situations, the observation and characterization techniques of damages, and behavior observation methods during impact. Based on that, we were able to identify three behaviors during impact, and four damage types, over all tested samples. These behaviors and damages were linked to the selected elaboration conditions and one set appeared very promising. The analysis of the parameters allowed us to understand the mechanisms occurring during the production of the panel. Residual resistance after impact was characterized by subjecting the samples to consecutive impacts. Four behaviors were observed, directly linked to the damages initially observed. The choice of an optimal structure was confirmed.; Lors d'une étude précédente, des prototypes destinés à transporter des matériels militaires lourds (600kg) par hélicoptère ont été produits. Reposant sur l'utilisation de matériaux composites à structure sandwich, ces structures ont convaincu par leur légèreté et leur résistance à la charge, mais ont montré des faiblesses lors de la sollicitation en impact basse énergie / basse vitesse. Lors de cette thèse, nous avons cherché à optimiser la résistance des structures sandwich à ce type d'endommagements en étudiant l'influence des paramètres d'élaboration par un procédé de mise-en-oeuvre industriel. Une étude bibliographique a permis la mise en évidence des paramètres critiques de faisabilité du projet. Le choix du procédé de fabrication a été arrêté à l'infusion de résine liquide, technique couramment utilisée dans l'industrie est facilement utilisable par des petites et moyennes structures. L'état de l'art a également révélé des pistes d'amélioration des structures sandwich via les conditions de fabrication. Un procédé particulier a du être mis en place afin de fabriquer des structures composites sandwich en une seule étape. Avec cette méthode, quatre jeux de paramètres ont été retenus pour l'étude : les températures de fabrication, la nature de la matrice, l'état de surface de l'âme, ainsi que la présence (ou non) d'additifs nano-dimensionnés dans la matrice. Diverses combinaisons de ces paramètres ont été utilisées pour fabriquer des panneaux sandwich ensuite découpés en échantillons afin d'être testés en impact à l'aide d'une tour de chute. Une première série de tests a permis de déterminer les conditions d'impact représentative des cas réellement rencontrés, les techniques permettant l'identification et la caractérisation des endommagements, ainsi que l'observation des comportements pendant l'impact. A partir des observations pendant et après l'impact, nous avons pu constater trois comportements et quatre types d'endommagements, sur l'ensemble des échantillons testés. Ces comportements et endommagements ont pu être reliées aux paramètres d'élaboration sélectionnés. [...]

In a previous study, prototypes for heavy military equipment (>600kg) transportation by helicopters were developed. Based on sandwich composite structures, these materials showed promising results in terms of weight reduction and load bearing capabilities, but weaknesses were observed during low velocity/low energy impact solicitations. During this PhD project, we aimed at optimizing sandwich structure's resistance to impacts, by studying elaboration parameter's influences of an industrial production method on impact behaviors. A bibliographic review showed critical parameters for this project's feasibility. We chose to use the Liquid Resin Infusion as the elaboration process; this technique is commonly used in the industry, and is suited for small production structures. State of the art also showed impact resistance improving methods for sandwich structures, in terms of processing conditions. A particular elaboration method was designed, to produce sandwich structures in a one-shot process. In this study, and with this method, four sets of parameters were selected: elaboration temperatures, matrix types, core's surface nature, and whether or not the matrix contained nanoscaled additives. Several combinations of these parameters were used to produce sandwich panels, which were cut in samples, to be impacted on a drop-weight tower. Preliminary testing allowed to determine representative impact conditions, similar to real-life situations, the observation and characterization techniques of damages, and behavior observation methods during impact. Based on that, we were able to identify three behaviors during impact, and four damage types, over all tested samples. These behaviors and damages were linked to the selected elaboration conditions and one set appeared very promising. The analysis of the parameters allowed us to understand the mechanisms occurring during the production of the panel. Residual resistance after impact was characterized by subjecting the samples to consecutive impacts. Four behaviors were observed, directly linked to the damages initially observed. The choice of an optimal structure was confirmed.; Lors d'une étude précédente, des prototypes destinés à transporter des matériels militaires lourds (600kg) par hélicoptère ont été produits. Reposant sur l'utilisation de matériaux composites à structure sandwich, ces structures ont convaincu par leur légèreté et leur résistance à la charge, mais ont montré des faiblesses lors de la sollicitation en impact basse énergie / basse vitesse. Lors de cette thèse, nous avons cherché à optimiser la résistance des structures sandwich à ce type d'endommagements en étudiant l'influence des paramètres d'élaboration par un procédé de mise-en-oeuvre industriel. Une étude bibliographique a permis la mise en évidence des paramètres critiques de faisabilité du projet. Le choix du procédé de fabrication a été arrêté à l'infusion de résine liquide, technique couramment utilisée dans l'industrie est facilement utilisable par des petites et moyennes structures. L'état de l'art a également révélé des pistes d'amélioration des structures sandwich via les conditions de fabrication. Un procédé particulier a du être mis en place afin de fabriquer des structures composites sandwich en une seule étape. Avec cette méthode, quatre jeux de paramètres ont été retenus pour l'étude : les températures de fabrication, la nature de la matrice, l'état de surface de l'âme, ainsi que la présence (ou non) d'additifs nano-dimensionnés dans la matrice. Diverses combinaisons de ces paramètres ont été utilisées pour fabriquer des panneaux sandwich ensuite découpés en échantillons afin d'être testés en impact à l'aide d'une tour de chute. Une première série de tests a permis de déterminer les conditions d'impact représentative des cas réellement rencontrés, les techniques permettant l'identification et la caractérisation des endommagements, ainsi que l'observation des comportements pendant l'impact. A partir des observations pendant et après l'impact, nous avons pu constater trois comportements et quatre types d'endommagements, sur l'ensemble des échantillons testés. Ces comportements et endommagements ont pu être reliées aux paramètres d'élaboration sélectionnés. [...]