Abstract
Conventional composite curing incur high production costs because of their long processing times. In contrast, microwave curing process (MCP) can reduce the production costs because both the mold and the composite parts can be heated directly. In this study, a mold consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), quartz glass, and stainless steel clamps was manufactured to cure composite specimens of carbon fiber and epoxy resin. Flame test was conducted prior to the MCP to confirm whether the spark occurred in the mold and the composite prepreg. Uniaxial tensile tests and three-point bending tests were then conducted to obtain the mechanical properties of the composite specimens according to the input power and the processing time. The mechanical properties of the composite specimens fabricated by MCP were compared with those of composite specimens manufactured by PCF. The results show that MCP can cure the composite prepreg more rapidly than PCF and can attain comparable mechanical properties.
Highlights
Fiber-reinforced composites have shown outstanding specific strength and toughness compared with conventional metallic materials, and have become widely used in the automotive and aircraft industries [1,2,3,4]
Differences between the composite specimens fabricated by prepreg compression forming (PCF) and Microwave-Based Curing Process (MCP) were observed to
The composite specimens fabricated by PCF showed the lowest void ratio, and the composite specimens cured by MCP at 700 W of input power and 60 min of processing time showed an approximately 1.9% higher void ratio compared with the PCF specimens
Summary
Fiber-reinforced composites have shown outstanding specific strength and toughness compared with conventional metallic materials, and have become widely used in the automotive and aircraft industries [1,2,3,4]. With increasing commercial deployment of the fiber-reinforced composites, various composite curing processes have been developed to improve the composite quality and production cycle. Prepreg compression forming (PCF), directly heats a metallic mold to reduce production costs [12,13]. This technique can still require a long processing time depending on the thermal conductivity of the mold
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