Title: Influence of processing on the development of residual stresses in thick section thermoset composites

Authors: T. A. Bogetti, J. W. Gillespie Jr., R. L. McCullough

Addresses: Dept. of the Army, Army Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland 21005-5066, USA. ' Center for Composite Materials, University of Delaware, Newark DE 19716, USA. ' Center for Composite Materials, University of Delaware, Newark DE 19716, USA

Abstract: The design of a cure cycle involves the proper selection of temperature and pressure cycles to allow complete, uniform, controlled cure and sufficient time for ply compaction while completing the cure process in as short a period of time as possible to reduce the cost of producing the part. A major problem encountered in curing thick section laminates is the control of the reaction exotherm and heat transfer in order to achieve uniform cure and, in particular, to minimize residual stresses. The problem is aggravated by the poor and usually non-isotropic thermal conductivity of the assembly. In this work, a cure simulation model is coupled to an incremental laminate plate theory model to investigate the relationship between gradients in temperature, degree of cure, and residual stress. The effects of the autoclave temperature cure cycle and laminate thickness on the evolution of processing induced stress is presented.

Keywords: concurrent engineering; cure cycle design; cure simulation; thick section thermoset composites; residual stress; simultaneous engineering; thick section laminates; reaction exotherm; heat transfer; simulation; laminate plate theory.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMPT.1994.036417

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology, 1994 Vol.9 No.1/2/3, pp.170 - 182

Published online: 03 Nov 2010 *

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