Modelling of thermal response of oil-heated tools due to different flow rates for the manufacture of composite structures

Aimed at optimising the heat-transfer process during the cure of resin, a s eries of numerical simulations on thermal responses of an oil-heated tool f or the manufacture of composite structures were performed and results of th e study were discussed by authors [Compos. Struct. 47 (1999) 491]. There it was found that the temperature response and distribution of the tool was h ighly dependent on the oil flow rate. Hence, control of thermal response of an oil-heated tool might be achieved by controlling the flow rate of the o il. To verify the numerical simulations, an oil-heating test rig was built at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Monash University, Australia, and a series of experimental investigations using different flow rates of t he thermal oil of BP product Transcal-N - were conducted. The results of th e experimental study presented in this report were found to be in a very go od agreement with the results of corresponding numerical simulations. Based on these findings, analytical and empirical models were developed to descr ibe the heat-transfer process using oil-heated tools, including the time pe riod of the transient heat transfer and the maximum temperature of the tool s. The results predicted by the alternative models agreed well with those f rom the experimental and numerical investigations. (C) 2001 Published by El sevier Science Ltd.