Joint research
Shared programmes with universities and industry teams on woven reinforcement, lattices and protective skins for lightweight vehicles.
Industries / Material research
Additive material research for impact and blast protection
We research additive materials that protect lightweight aerial vehicles: woven aramid reinforcement in TPU, energy-absorbing lattices and impact-resistant skins. Three example simulations below show the printing method, a gas-gun pulse test and fragment impacts on a UAV skin. Research programmes start with a conversation under mutual NDA.
Example drawing: woven aramid (yellow) and TPU coupon, plan, section and weave detail.
Research areas
Additive materials science for protection
Four areas where printing gives control over where material, fibre and void sit inside a part.
- 01
Continuous fibre and woven reinforcement in elastomers
Aramid yarn laid and woven into TPU layer by layer. Weave pitch, ply spacing and layer height set fibre fraction, stiffness and how a skin carries load.
TPU, aramid, FDM - 02
Energy absorption in lattices
Graded lattices and cellular cores that crush progressively, designed against a target energy and a limit on transmitted load.
Lattices, SLS, FDM - 03
Blast and impact mitigation for lightweight aerial vehicles
Protective skins and panels for small UAVs, studied with gas-gun pulse loading and fragment impact, to protect airframes and payloads.
UAV skins, panels - 04
Material characterisation
Coupon printing, tensile and flexural specimens, layer-orientation studies and fibre-fraction records, prepared for testing partners and reported against the print record.
Coupons, records
Example simulation 1
Printing TPU with an embedded aramid weave
A deposition head lays TPU layer by layer. After every fourth layer the head lays warp and weft aramid yarn (yellow) across the surface, and the next layers embed it. Change pitch, layer height, infill and speed, and switch between the build, cross-section and exploded views.
Layer 08/15
- Layers (deposited / total)
- 8 / 15
- Woven plies (embedded / total)
- 2 / 3
- Fibre volume fraction Vf
- 7.5 %
- Est. mass per m2
- 3.68 kg/m2
- Est. deposition time (coupon)
- 1040 s
Vf = np x 2 x (w / p) x ty / T
= 3 x 2 x (1.0 / 4.0) x 0.15 / 3.0 = 0.075
m = T x (ρf Vf + ρm η (1 - Vf))
= 3.0 x (1.44 x 0.075 + 1.21 x 1.00 x 0.925) = 3.68 kg/m2
t = Σ path length / head speed
w yarn width 1 mm, ty yarn thickness 0.15 mm, np plies (one per 4 layers), p pitch, T 3.0 mm, η infill, ρf aramid 1.44 and ρm TPU 1.21 g/cm3 (model inputs).
Example output. Densities, yarn size and ply spacing are model inputs shown on this page. The fibre fraction, mass and time are formula-derived display values for a 40 x 40 x 3 mm coupon, not measured results or a statement of product performance.
- Weave pitch sets how much yarn each ply carries.
- Layer height sets how many plies fit in the thickness.
- Infill changes the mass of the TPU between plies.
Example simulation 2
Pressure pulse on a woven panel
A gas gun sends a pressure pulse at a clamped panel, shown in side section. The colour map shows strain, the gauge shows back-face deflection, and the traces show the incident pulse and the load passed to the supports. Compare the TPU and aramid panel with plain TPU or ABS.
02468
Strain, %. Markers: example failure strain, ABS 2.5 (red) and TPU + aramid 6.5 (yellow). Thickness drawn x2.2, deflection x1.5.
t = 1.71 ms
- Peak deflection, TPU + aramid
- 3.9 mm
- Peak strain / failure strain
- 0 %
- Peak support load / pulse
- 43 %
- Peak deflection, Plain ABS
- 3.0 mm
- Peak strain / failure strain
- 1 %
- Fibre volume fraction Vf
- 9.0 %
Model inputs
Plate: p = (64D / a4) w + (4Et / a4) w3, a = 50 mm, D = Et3 / 12(1 - ν2)
E: ABS 2.2 GPa, TPU 0.05 GPa, composite by rule of mixtures with a 0.1 fibre efficiency (70 GPa aramid), damping ratio 0.03 / 0.25 / 0.18.
Pulse: Friedlander shape, 0.4 ms.
Example output from a reduced-order model: a single-degree-of-freedom clamped plate with membrane stiffening and the damping, failure strain and density inputs listed with the controls. It shows how the same pulse reads on different panels.
- Pulse magnitude, panel thickness and weave pitch are adjustable.
- Back-face deflection is read against a fixed backing gap.
- Energy bars show where the input energy goes.
Example simulation 3
Fragment impacts on a UAV skin
A lightweight UAV is struck by small fragments in a simulated debris field. Two airframes take identical hits side by side, one in standard plastic and one in TPU with woven aramid, and a section view shows what happens inside the skin at each impact.
00.250.50.7511.3
Local skin stress as a fraction of the example allowable. Aramid spreads the same impact over a wider zone at a lower peak.
Fragment 5/5
- Fragment energy (normal), each
- 14 to 21 J
- Plastic: held / perforated
- 0 / 5
- TPU + aramid: held / penetrated
- 5 / 0
- Plastic: absorbed / remaining
- 41 / 47 J
- TPU + aramid: absorbed / remaining
- 88 / 0 J
Standard plastic: energy per fragment, absorbed and remaining
TPU + aramid: energy per fragment, absorbed and remaining
Share of incident energy absorbed by the skin so far
Standard plastic
47%
TPU + aramid
100%
Model inputs
KE = ½ m (v cosθ)2, fragment 1.0 g, variation of 25% mass and 8% speed between hits.
Skin absorbs min(KE, C). C plastic = 9 J. C aramid = 9 x (1 + 25 Vf) = 31.5 J, Vf = 3 plies x 2 x (1 / 3) x 0.15 / 3.0.
C falls 10% per earlier hit within 45 px (floor 55%).
Example output from an energy-capacity model, drawn as an educational illustration. Inputs: fragment 1.0 g, skin 3.0 mm, plastic capacity 9 J, aramid skin capacity = plastic x (1 + 25 Vf) = 32 J at Vf 10 %, local damage lowering capacity near earlier hits.
- Choose hit count, hit angle and fragment speed.
- Stress colour map shows how the aramid spreads each impact.
- Energy bars show absorbed and remaining energy for every fragment.
Working with us
Joint research, funded programmes and testing
The research team prints the coupons, panels and skins, keeps the build record, and works with your engineers on the test plan.
Grant-funded programmes
We join consortia and innovation-funded projects as the additive manufacturing and materials partner.
Materials testing partners
Specimens are prepared to your test method and supplied with print records, so results from your test facility trace back to the build.
Models, specimens and results are shared under a mutual NDA, and uploads are secure and confidential.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What are the simulations?
They are educational models with the inputs displayed next to each one. They show how weave pitch, layer height and thickness change a printed skin, and are labelled Example simulation. Performance figures for a project come from testing.
Why TPU with aramid?
TPU is a tough, elastic printable matrix. Woven aramid yarn adds tensile strength and spreads load, so the skin deforms and absorbs energy before it fails.
Which printing process is used?
FDM, with a deposition head that lays TPU and aramid yarn in the same build. Lattice cores can also be made in SLS and FDM.
Can you print specimens for our test programme?
Yes. Send the specimen drawing and the test method. We print to the drawing, record layer height, pitch and fibre fraction, and supply the record with the parts.
How do we start a joint programme?
Contact the engineering team with the vehicle, the operating environment in general terms, and the outcome you need. We reply with a proposed scope and the specimens to build first.
Is this work covered by an NDA?
Yes. We sign a mutual NDA before files or test data are shared.
Plan a material research programme
Tell us the vehicle, the skin or panel concept and the testing you have in mind.