Improved cure optimization in pultrusion with pre-heating and die-cooler temperature

Optimization studies are performed on the pultrusion of a thermosetting composite. The three-dimensional finite element/nodal control volume procedure developed for simulation and optimization of the process is employed for this purpose. The aim of optimization is to achieve the desired degree of cure with minimum local variations across the pultrudate cross-section. The die-heating environment is optimized for a few cases with different initial temperatures for a glass/epoxy wet preform and for the cooler installed within the pultrusion die near its entrance. The role of these temperature parameters in moderating the optimization constraints is examined. Simultaneous optimization of die-heater temperatures and pull-speed is also considered. It is observed that the temperature overshoot within the composite pultrudate can be reduced and better optimization results can be achieved by a proper choice of a pre-die temperature for the composite and the die-cooler temperature.

[1]  George S. Springer,et al.  Heat of Reaction, Degree of Cure, and Viscosity of Hercules 3501-6 Resin , 1982 .

[2]  T. A. McCarty,et al.  Investigation of Dynamic Pressure Behavior in a Pultrusion Die , 1998 .

[3]  J. A. Roux,et al.  Die and post-die temperature and cure in graphite/epoxy composites , 1996 .

[4]  P. K. Mallick,et al.  Composites engineering handbook , 1997 .

[5]  Yee Cheong Lam,et al.  Simulation of heat transfer and cure in pultrusion with a general-purpose finite element package , 2000 .

[6]  J. A. Roux,et al.  Thermal Model for Three-Dimensional Irregular Shaped Pultruded Fiberglass Composites , 1996 .

[7]  Sunil C. Joshi,et al.  Three-dimensional finite-element/nodal-control-volume simulation of the pultrusion process with temperature-dependent material properties including resin shrinkage , 2001 .

[8]  D. T. Wright,et al.  Towards pultrusion process optimisation using artificial neural networks , 1998 .

[9]  L. E. Scales,et al.  Introduction to Non-Linear Optimization , 1985 .

[10]  Jianhua. Li.  Optimization of die-heating and pull speed for pultrusion , 2001 .

[11]  Jan-Anders E. Månson,et al.  Time-cure-temperature superposition for the prediction of instantaneous viscoelastic properties during cure , 2000 .

[12]  S. Joshi,et al.  Simultaneous optimization of die-heating and pull-speed in pultrusion of thermosetting composites , 2003 .

[13]  C. Macosko,et al.  Heat transfer and cure in pultrusion: Model and experimental verification , 1993 .

[14]  Yiu-Wing Mai,et al.  Simulation of temperature and curing profiles in pultruded composite rods , 1998 .

[15]  Sunil C. Joshi,et al.  Curing optimization for pultruded composite sections , 2002 .