Advanced composite materials have been attracting the interest of many automotive companies for producing light and high-performance components. Out-Of-Autoclave methods have been recognized as the most promising processes to produce CFRP components. One of the most interesting process is Compression-RTM. The aim of this research is to demonstrate the validity of the C-RTM process for producing parts with a thickness greater than 10 mm. The authors fabricated a preform made by 17 layers of PAN based carbon fibre 800 g/m2 and 600 g/m2 twill fabric and injected more than 700 g of matrix. Process simulations have been run to test different boundary conditions without producing physical prototypes. Flexural tests have been performed to compare the behavior of thick parts produced by C-RTM with the ones produced by prepreg and autoclave. The results show comparable strength values between the samples tested. DSC, void content and ultrasound measurements have been investigated to fully understand the physical properties of the finished component. Moreover, cycle times has been analysed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method both from process and product performances points of view. Results show that thanks to the use of C-RTM the manufacturing time decreases by 68% with respect to the autoclave processes.
Manufacturing, process simulation and mechanical tests of a thick component produced by compression-RTM process / Vita, A.; Castorani, V.; Germani, M.. - (2020). (Intervento presentato al convegno 18th European Conference on Composite Materials, ECCM 2018 tenutosi a Megaron Athens International Conference Centre (MAICC), grc nel 2018).
Manufacturing, process simulation and mechanical tests of a thick component produced by compression-RTM process
Vita A.
;Castorani V.;Germani M.
2020-01-01
Abstract
Advanced composite materials have been attracting the interest of many automotive companies for producing light and high-performance components. Out-Of-Autoclave methods have been recognized as the most promising processes to produce CFRP components. One of the most interesting process is Compression-RTM. The aim of this research is to demonstrate the validity of the C-RTM process for producing parts with a thickness greater than 10 mm. The authors fabricated a preform made by 17 layers of PAN based carbon fibre 800 g/m2 and 600 g/m2 twill fabric and injected more than 700 g of matrix. Process simulations have been run to test different boundary conditions without producing physical prototypes. Flexural tests have been performed to compare the behavior of thick parts produced by C-RTM with the ones produced by prepreg and autoclave. The results show comparable strength values between the samples tested. DSC, void content and ultrasound measurements have been investigated to fully understand the physical properties of the finished component. Moreover, cycle times has been analysed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method both from process and product performances points of view. Results show that thanks to the use of C-RTM the manufacturing time decreases by 68% with respect to the autoclave processes.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
