Design of Prepreg Compression Molding for Manufacturing of CFRTP B-pillar Reinforcement with Equivalent Mechanical Properties to Existing Steel Part

Abstract

Prepreg compression molding (PCM) is a well-known process for manufacturing of carbon fiber reinforced thermo-plastics (CFRTP) products with high quality and production rate. However, the design method used for the development of automotive parts has not been clearly presented. In this paper, we propose a process chain that can satisfy the stiffness of existing steel products. First, the CFRTP product of a B-pillar reinforcement to satisfy the bending deformation of an existing product is designed using a structural analysis and genetic algorithms. Next, forming conditions of the product are determined by a forming analysis. To investigate the feasibility regarding the mass production of the PCM process, a rapid heating and cooling system was applied to PCM molds. The heating and cooling times of the molds were calculated using a computational fluid dynamics analysis. Finally, a CFRTP product was fabricated and its bending deformation, dimensional accuracy, and weight were evaluated.