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Resin pressure monitoring method and variation in autoclave processing of polymer composite laminates using capillary sensors

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Abstract

According to the feature of resin matrix composites in the autoclave process, the resin flow state is mainly driven by resin pressure. Therefore, achieving online monitoring of resin pressure changes will provide effective guidance for the selection of autoclave parameters and the analysis of component forming quality. In this work, an online monitoring system of resin pressure was established using a capillary sensor, and the accuracy and responsiveness of the system were studied through a hysteresis test and main factor optimization. The change of resin pressure in the whole curing process of the composite laminates was further evaluated. Results showed that the system had the characteristics of high accuracy and fast response when the capillary tube diameter was 0.8 mm and the viscosity of silicone oil was controlled in the range of 0.05–0.5 Pa.s. For T800/X850 composite laminates, the best pressurization time was obtained when the curing temperature raised to 60 ℃. At the same time, resin pressure bear most of the external pressure during the zero bleeding process, which was less sensitive to the thickness of the samples. The values of resin pressure evenly distributed along the thickness direction and did not fluctuate.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 51975208, the Science and Technology Innovation Program of Hunan Province, 2020RC4001, the Natural Science Youth Fund of Hunan Province, 2020JJ5183 and the Doctoral Research Startup Fund of Hunan University of Science and Technology, E52077. The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the research team members of Central South University and Hunan University of Science and Technology for their support and useful discussions in this research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical and Electrical Engineering College, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, 411201, China

    Teng-fei Chang, Xi Zou, Shu-jian Li & Yang Pan

  2. School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Li-hua Zhan

  3. Jiangnan Machinery (Group) Co., Ltd, Xiangtang, 411100, Xiangtan, China

    Fei-xiong Yi

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  1. Teng-fei Chang
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  2. Li-hua Zhan
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  4. Shu-jian Li
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Correspondence to Teng-fei Chang.

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Chang, Tf., Zhan, Lh., Zou, X. et al. Resin pressure monitoring method and variation in autoclave processing of polymer composite laminates using capillary sensors. Iran Polym J 33, 25–34 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13726-023-01232-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13726-023-01232-2

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