Integrated Computational Material Design for PMC Manufacturing with Trapped Rubber
Journal article, 2020

As the use of continuous fiber polymer matrix composites expands into new fields, there is a growing need for more sustainable manufacturing processes. An integrated computational material design framework has been developed, which enables the design of tailored manufacturing systems for polymer matrix composite materials as a sustainable alternative to achieving high-quality components in high-rate production. Trapped rubber processing achieves high pressures during polymer matrix composite processing, utilizing the thermally induced volume change of a nearly incompressible material inside a closed cavity mold. In this interdisciplinary study, the structural analysis, material science and manufacturing engineering perspectives are all combined to determine the mold mechanics, and the manufacturing process in a cohesive and iterative design loop. This study performs the coupled thermo-mechanical analysis required to simulate the transients involved in composite manufacturing and the results are compared with a previously developed test method. The internal surface pressure and temperatures are computed, compared with the experimental results, and the resulting design process is simulated. Overall, this approach maintains high-quality consolidation during curing while allowing for the possibility for custom distributions of pressures and temperatures. This can lead to more sustainable manufacturing by reducing energy consumption and improving throughput.

composites

simulation

processing

trapped rubber processing

elastomers

Author

Brina Blinzler

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Material and Computational Mechanics

Pooria Khalili

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Material and Computational Mechanics

Johan Ahlström

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Engineering Materials

Materials

19961944 (eISSN)

Vol. 13 17 13173825

Trapped Rubber Processing: High Performance/ High Rate Composite Processing

VINNOVA (2018-04261), 2018-12-01 -- 2019-11-30.

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Subject Categories

Applied Mechanics

Manufacturing, Surface and Joining Technology

Composite Science and Engineering

Infrastructure

C3SE (Chalmers Centre for Computational Science and Engineering)

Areas of Advance

Materials Science

DOI

10.3390/ma13173825

PubMed

32872509

More information

Latest update

2/16/2021