Vol4 num4-9 Simulation of a pultrusion process of composite material profiles reinforced with carbon fiber for aeronautical applications

Abstract

The manufacture by means of a pultrusion process allows to obtain structural profiles of composite materials, avoiding discontinuous processes that need the use of an autoclave to cure the material. This process usually uses fiberglass as reinforcement, not reaching the necessary qualities in structural aeronautical applications. The present work develops a numerical simulation of the pultrusion with composite materials reinforced with carbon fiber for aeronautical structural applications. In order to obtain high quality materials, a product development is required where the process parameters are studied. In this sense, a complete study of the pultrusion process has been carried out through the development of numerical simulations using the software ABAQUS and NASTRAN / PATRAN from the point of view of the material manufactured and the pultrusion mold used. These two approaches have been developed by generating finite element models. In the first place, models that simulate and predict the physical-chemical properties of the material, such as the glass transition temperature and the degree of final curing of the material before processes with different temperature settings, draft speeds and geometries. Second, the pultrusion mold was simulated to obtain the expansions and loads applied to the fabricated profile to evaluate the influence of this on the pultrusion process and the quality of the obtained profile. The results obtained have been correlated by mechanical and physical-chemical tests as well as manufacturing tests that obtained the simulated profiles in order to introduce the technology and the parts manufactured in future aeronautical structures.