Abstract
Autoclave processing is a commonly used state-of-the-art fiber-reinforced composite manufacturing technology, albeit with high capital cost, long cycle times and high energy consumption. Alternatively, out-of-autoclave processing reduces the initial and operating costs while producing composite structures with similar quality as that of autoclave parts. Additive Manufacturing (AM) the scaled-up molds for out-of-autoclave process using carbon fiber (CF) reinforced composite offers design flexibility, enhanced mechanical, and thermal properties in addition to reduction in weight and cost. However, heating of these molds using an oven is still expensive and necessitates an energy-efficient heating process. In this study, resistive heating through heating elements embedded within fiber reinforced composite molds is used as an efficient heating mechanism. The goal is to design wire embeddings and determine the optimal heat flux density to achieve a target uniform temperature of 800C across the mold surface. To this end, numerical analyses were performed to evaluate the temperature distribution across the composite mold surface for a given wire placement and mold configuration. Constant thermal properties of the 20 wt.% short CF reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) were used in the thermal analysis. Time taken to reach the steady state temperature was also estimated. Design guidelines for wire embeddings were included to enable efficient manufacturing of fiber-reinforced composites through out-of-autoclave molds.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Advanced Manufacturing |
| Publisher | American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780791886649 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2022 |
| Event | ASME 2022 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, IMECE 2022 - Columbus, United States Duration: Oct 30 2022 → Nov 3 2022 |
Publication series
| Name | ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Proceedings (IMECE) |
|---|---|
| Volume | 2-B |
Conference
| Conference | ASME 2022 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, IMECE 2022 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Columbus |
| Period | 10/30/22 → 11/3/22 |
Funding
This research is sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Advanced Manufacturing Office, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle LLC. Additive manufacturing of fiber reinforced polymer composites has been the subject of increased interest in recent years as it enables fabrication of lightweight and high-performance structures. The design flexibility of AM processes opens avenues to manufacture parts for a wide range of applications in automotive, renewable energy, and aerospace manufacturing industries [1-5]. Parts for end use applications such as aerial vehicle’s components, boat hull, rapid prototyping tool, and engine bracket can be readily available by 3D printing them directly [6]. In addition, parts for molding or tooling applications such as autoclave molds can be manufactured indirectly [7]. Considering that the properties of the AM parts are Notice: This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under Contract No. DE-AC0500OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for the United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide
Keywords
- 3D Printing
- Carbon-fiber reinforced composites
- Composite Mold
- Heat Transfer
- Large Scale Additive Manufacturing
- Out-of-autoclave Manufacturing
- Thermal Analysis
- Wire embedding
