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- 2019
A heatKeywords: Process simulation,thermal optimization,autoclave,mold Abstract: In composite manufacturing, large composite parts usually exhibit high heating gradients during the autoclave process, which may intensify the process-induced residual stresses and deformations. As the thermal behavior of molds is of crucial importance to the curing performance of composites, a heat-balance method is presented to reduce the heating rate on overheated areas of molds, thus providing a more homogeneous curing process. The method is based on a local-isolation structure installed under the mold plate, which is used to change the local heat transfer coefficient of the mold. In the local-isolation structure application, an optimization process combining numerical simulations with a greedy genetic algorithm is developed to find the optimal layout and geometry of local-isolation structure in molds. The optimization results suggest that more uniform heating condition and more synchronous curing process can be achieved with the optimal design of local-isolation structure. In the case of a typical mold for C spar component, the maximum temperature difference in the composite part is reduce by 45.69%, while the maximum difference in degree of cure is decreased at a rate of 40.16%
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