Abstract
Over-infusion is a manufacturing process in which a pre-fabricated composite is co-molded with an uncured laminate during the vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (vaRTM) process. One of the applications of this process is to produce wind turbine blade components such as root section. A complex shear interaction between the pre-fabricated laminate and over-infused part play a crucial role in the final shape distortions, residual stresses and bonding quality of the interface. In order to have more reliable over-infusion processes and improve the product quality, a predictable process modelling tool is necessary to understand and describe some of the challenges such as residual stresses and shape deformations. The current work presents a combined experimental and modelling effort to develop a fundamental understanding of the warpage formation during the over-infusion process which has not considered up to now. A unidirectional (UD) glass/polyester laminate plate (~200×200 mm) with a thickness of 2 mm is first fully cured using the vaRTM at room temperature. Another UD layer is overinfused on top of the already cured laminate using same processing conditions. Due to the chemical shrinkage of the matrix and the shear interaction between the two laminates, a warpage occurs after the curing process. To predict this deformation mechanism, a fully coupled thermo-chemical-mechanical process model is developed in ABAQUS. Two different models are employed at the interface to capture the shear interaction during the process: a shear layer model and a traction-separation model. The interface model mimics the load-transfer from the infused laminate to the pre-fabricated laminate. A parametric analysis is performed based on the properties defined in the proposed interface models. A good agreement between the predicted and measured warpage formation is found using a soft resin stiffness at the interface.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - 25 Aug 2017 |
Event | 21st International Conference on Composite Materials 2017 - Xi'an, China Duration: 20 Aug 2017 → 25 Aug 2017 Conference number: 21 http://www.iccm21.org/ |
Conference
Conference | 21st International Conference on Composite Materials 2017 |
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Abbreviated title | ICCM 2017 |
Country/Territory | China |
City | Xi'an |
Period | 20/08/17 → 25/08/17 |
Internet address |
Keywords
- Process modelling
- Warpage
- Over-infusion
- Glass/polyester
- Finite Element Method