Thermal analysis and process window development for the in-situ curing of thermoset composites

Conference · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:428105

Kim, J; Moon, T J; Howell, J R ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

This paper presents an analysis of the heat transfer occurring during an in-situ curing process for which infrared energy is provided on the surface of polymer composite during winding. The material system is Hercules prepreg AS4/3501-6. Thermoset composites have an exothermic chemical reaction during the curing process. An Eulerian thermochemical model is developed for the heat transfer analysis of helical winding. The model incorporates heat generation due to the chemical reaction. Several assumptions are made leading to a two-dimensional, thermochemical model. For simplicity, 360{degree} heating around the mandrel is considered. In order to generate the appropriate process windows, the developed heat transfer model is combined with a simple winding time model. The process windows allow for a proper selection of process variables such as infrared energy input and winding velocity to give a desired end-product state. Steady-state temperatures are found for each combination of the process variables. A regression analysis is carried out to relate the process variables to the resulting steady-state temperatures. Using regression equations, process windows for a wide range of cylinder diameters are found. A general procedure to find process windows for Hercules AS4/3501-6 prepreg tape is coded in a FORTRAN program.

• Sponsoring Organization: National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States)
• OSTI ID: 428105
• Report Number(s): CONF-960815--; ISBN 0-7918-1505-6
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
COMPOSITE MATERIALS
CURING
IN-SITU PROCESSING
INFRARED RADIATION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
PROCESS CONTROL