Tailorable Universal Feedstock for Forming (TUFF): Overview and Performance

Under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Tailorable Feedstock for Forming (TFF) program, the University of Delaware - Center for Composite Materials (UD-CCM) led-team proposed to develop a manufacturing process and pilot facility to produce novel discontinuous carbon fiber composite feedstock for forming, with the potential to revolutionize the use of composite materials, as a cost-effective replacement for small complex geometry metal parts ( 40% bi-axial in-plane strain capability during forming. The in-plane stretchability of TuFF preforms enables conformability of simple planar preforms to complex geometries, eliminating the need for darting and complex ply patterns while minimizing associated scrap during composite layup. Closed-loop recycling and reuse strategies are possible for the first time with the ability to reuse fiber and preform scrap, prepreg scrap and recycled composite parts.