Simulations of an Infrared Composite Curing Process

Sawsane Nakouzi (1) , Fabrice Schmidt (1) , Yannick Le Maoult (1) , Florentin Berthet (1)

1 ICA - Institut Clément Ader

A 3D composite geometry (carbon fiber reinforced epoxy matrix) has been optimally cured using a well-designed infrared oven. The main purpose of this study is to validate a FE thermal model based upon commercial software COMSOL Multiphysics (TM) developed for the prediction of the infrared incident heat flux on the top surface of the composite during the curing process. Through the FE thermal model, an optimization study on the percentage power of each infrared heater was performed in order to optimize the incident IR heat flux uniformity on the composite. In order to achieve validations, an experimental set-up using an IR camera and some thin thermocouples has been developed in order to achieve temperatures measurement. The recorded temperatures at different positions on the 3D composite part will be compared to computed temperatures.

Mots clés: Optimization; Radiation; infrared oven; Curing composite; Carbon fibers; Epoxy resin

Domaines: Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]

Sawsane Nakouzi, Fabrice Schmidt, Yannick Le Maoult, Florentin Berthet. Simulations of an Infrared Composite Curing Process. ESAFORM 2013 - 16th Annual ESAFORM conference on material forming, Apr 2013, Aveiro, Portugal. pp.1517-1522, ⟨10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.554-557.1517⟩. ⟨hal-01687312⟩