A STUDY ON HEAT-TRANSFER DURING THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE TAPE LAY-UP PROCESS

A study on heat transfer during thermoplastic composite tape lay-up pr ocess was done. To investigate the relation between major process vari ables, experiments as well as numerical simulations were performed. A small-scale tape lay-up system was built. A hot nitrogen torch was use d to heat the prepreg tape. Right after the torch, a compaction roller was located to bond the prepreg plies. Temperatures inside the compos ite at four different locations through the thickness were measured, u sing thermocouples. Experiments were done for different process condit ions. Numerical simulations also were performed, using the finite elem ent code developed in this study. A numerical code was run for the sam e conditions as the experiment. Close agreement was observed between t he numerical results and the experimental data. (C) Elsevier Science I nc., 1996