Fabrication and Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Carbon/Epoxy Square Tube Using Pressure Bag Molding and Compared with Autoclave Method

Abstract

The present article concentrates on the fabrication of square tube by utilizing high strength carbon fabric epoxy resin prepreg through low cost pressure bag molding technique. In this process vacuum bag which was used has excellent expansion and high thermal stability. The manufactured carbon-epoxy prepreg square tube was evaluated on the basis of fiber volume fraction and mechanical properties such as longitudinal, transverse direction tensile strength. Further, carbon epoxy prepreg composite was manufactured by autoclave technique and compared the mechanical properties fabricated with pressure bag molding as square tube products can be obtained majorly by this technique. The results concluded that, the overall properties of composites manufactured by both the process are almost the same especially tensile strength. However, the specimens manufactured by pressure bag molding process have voids compared to the specimens manufactured by autoclave technique due to vacuum. Nonetheless, pressure bag molding technique can be satisfactorily considered to replace the autoclave technique molding technique and can eventually be applied to manufacture various industrial products such as yacht mast, bicycle frame, tennis racket etc. with low cost.