TRAPPED RUBBER PROCESSING SIMULATION FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE / HIGH RATE PROCESSING

Paper in proceeding, 2019

Trapped rubber processing (TRP) is an autoclave alternative to achieving high pressures during processing, utilizing temperature induced change in volume of a hyperelastic material. Recent advances in material and computational technology have made this processing technique more attractive. Through detailed experimental characterization, a design tool has been developed. In addition, a method has been developed for this characterization process that can be used for other TRP materials. TRP allows more design freedom with more advanced shapes and less risk of processing failure while maintaining the possibility for custom distributions of pressures and temperatures, therefore, high-quality consolidation during curing is achieved.