부산대학교 도서관

Composites are vital to the aircraft industry for their reduced weight and excellent mechanical properties. Autoclave curing is used for primary structures, with void content below 1%, to obtain optimal mechanical properties. The drawbacks of this method are the need for a mold for each component, the limited size of the autoclave, and the long curing time. Therefore, a novel process to cure prepregs with a hot tool applying a localized force (punctual) is introduced. The aim is a process without molds, but initial research focuses on using a mold to support carbon fiber/epoxy resin prepregs (CFER) while the hot tool is driven with a Cartesian machine. However, variability in the mold surface and prepreg layup make it difficult to achieve a uniform force when the tool presses and slides over the CFER sample. Therefore, a model of the mold surface is obtained and a control method to simulate a caterpillar is implemented to compensate the surface variability. The control method is tested with CFER prepegs at a force range of 3N–12N and temperature range of 175°C–225°C. The cured samples undergo t-peeling test to obtain a degree of bonding between the prepreg layers. The t-peeling results tests showed a reduction of 12.5% in the required curing temperature due to uniform pressure when using the caterpillar method. Additionally, there is a lack of fiber dislocation with the caterpillar method.