RESIN FLOW-ANALYSIS IN THE CONSOLIDATION OF MULTIDIRECTIONAL LAMINATED COMPOSITES

Advanced fiber reinforced polymer composites have been increasingly us ed in various structural components. One of the important processes to fabricate high performance laminated composites is an autoclave assis ted prepreg lay-up. Since the quality of laminated composites is large ly affected by the cure cycle, selection of the cure cycle for each ap plication is important and must be optimized. Thus, some fundamental m odel of the consolidation and cure processes is necessary to properly select the suitable parameters for each application. This study applie d the theory of consolidation and now in a porous medium to provide a general model for the three-dimensional consolidation process of the l aminates with fibers reinforced in multi-directions. Based on the mode l analysis, one can predict the pressure, velocity, and laminate thick ness during consolidation process, which, as coupled with the curing a nalysis, can be used to properly select the cure cycle for application s of laminated composites.