Simulation of Process Induced Distortions and Tooling Compensation for Aerospace Composites

During cool-down and removal from the tool curved composite laminates distort as a result of mismatch between the through-thickness and the in-plane thermal expansion coefficients, as well as a result of the complex cure shrinkage mechanisms taking place in the early stages of cure. Distorted components may cause problems during assembly, significantly increasing overall product cost, as well as well as its in-service performance. The application of numerical simulations in the area of autoclave curing processes has the potential for reducing process development cost and increasing the product quality. Currently tool designers account for the process induced deformations based on their experience and often approach the problem using trial-and-error techniques. Although this can give good results for parts of relatively simple geometry, with increasing demand on the composite part complexity, more sophisticated models need to be introduced which can help to predict tooling geometry required to consistently produce structures of high-quality within tight dimensional tolerances.

Featuring Advance Cure Simulation by LMAT, available through the Altair Partner Alliance.