On the Numerical Modeling of Fiber-reinforced Composites:Towards Industrial Applications

Description

Compression Moulding is used in automobile manufacturing and consists mainly in the compression of a composite preform in a mould. The preform is usually composed by the resin, the reinforcing fibres and other fillers. The process is rather simple but challenging from the numerical point of view. We have developed numerical methods able to compute both fiber-reinforced composites deformation in squeeze flow and thermal-kinetic evolution. The rheology is given by a homogeneous orthotropic compressible model which describes the anisotropy of the in-plane fiber. The thermic is containing the chemical reaction that consolidates the composite. Both physics are related since the kinetic evolution as well as the temperature profile modify the rheology of the composites, giving raise to the thermo-rheological-kinetical coupling by means of the viscosity temperature dependence.

Abstract

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