TPRC proprietary

TPRC 03-005 Database management Wouter Grouve June, 2014

TPRC proprietary

• Thermoplastic composites = fiber + thermoplastic matrix

• Product performance depends strongly on chosen processing route, material properties and design

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THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES Quick intro

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TPRC proprietary

Research center for thermoplastic composites

• Driven by industrial members

• Scientific quality is guaranteed by academic members

Focus

• Interrelation between processing and performance

• Experimental work with modeling efforts to support analysis

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TPRC ThermoPlastic composites Research Center

TPRC proprietary

Experimental data depends on:

• Material, batch numbers, material storage history, sample lay-up, manufacturing method, process conditions (temperature, pressure, time, cooling rate, …), mold, release agents used, operator, test equipment, test type, test conditions (temperature, humidity), …

PhD theses, articles and reports often cover only part of this info…

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THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES Traceability is key

A lot of relevant context information is lost!

TPRC proprietary

Database solution

• No commercial solution available: too specific

• Developed an Access database in collaboration with external party

Maintenance and access

• Designated technical personnel maintains database

• Senior staff can access information stored in database

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DATABASE Development

TPRC proprietary

Conclusions

• Working database solution for data from standardized experiments

• All relevant context is stored with experimental data

Challenge

• How to cope with changes in experimental setups, procedures and so on?

• How to cope with non-standard tests?

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DATABASE Conclusions and challenge