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DAVID BOND AND ALAN NESBITT University of Manchester School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering PO Box 88 Manchester M60 1QD UK d.bond@manchester.ac.uk VICTORIA COENEN Hurel-Hispano Ltd Bancroft Rd, Burnley Lancashire BB10 2TQ UK DALE BROSIUS Quickstep Technologies Pty. Ltd. 152 Vulcan Rd, Canning Vale Western Australia 6155 AUSTRALIA
ABSTRACT
Quickstep is a polymer composite manufacturing technique for out-of-autoclave processing of high-quality, low-cost, components. The Quickstep process uses a liquid to transfer heat to the uncured laminate stack, enabling precise control of the stack temperature and a considerable reduction of cure-cycle times. Plant and tool structural requirements are significantly reduced compared to those of an autoclave process by eliminating the need for high consolidation pressures. This paper reports on the installation of a Quickstep product development plant at the University of Manchester for industrial use in the evaluation of the process. An assessment of the suitability of the Quickstep method for the processing of a typical aerospace composite material, 914/40/G703 carbon epoxy prepreg, is also presented. Physical and mechanical properties of laminate test specimens manufactured using various Quickstep process cycles and a conventional autoclave cycle are compared. The Quickstep processed material has similar or slightly improved properties over those of the autoclave processed material. The Quickstep process also achieves a significant reduction in the overall cure-cycle time and estimated manufacturing costs.
INTRODUCTION
Advanced fibre-reinforced polymer composite materials have not been as widely used within manufacturing industry applications as would be predicted from their structural performance characteristics. The main reasons for this aversion are the complexity of their processing techniques and the associated high-costs. The use of advanced composites has therefore,
largely been restricted to industries with already high product costs and low volume production, viz the aerospace and high-performance automotive industries. Currently, most high-performance composite components are produced by hand or machine lay-up of prepreg laminates followed by curing in an autoclave at elevated temperature and pressure in order to obtain the required structural properties. This manufacturing process is expensive and time consuming, with a typical process cycle time of up to 16 hours and an estimated cost per kilogram part of $640 [1]. There has been an increase in the development of alternative composite manufacturing technologies, with the aim of producing materials of similar quality to aerospace grade composites, but in a shorter processing time and at a lower cost e.g. RTM, RFI, VARTM [2, 3]. Although many of these techniques benefit from a shorter process cycle time than autoclave curing, they tend to produce material with inferior mechanical properties whilst still retaining a high manufacturing cost [1]. Quickstep Technologies Pty Ltd has developed a balanced pressure, heated mould process, that can be utilised for the out-of-autoclave curing of advanced composite materials [4, 5]. The process benefits from versatile production facilities, fast cure cycles and reduced capital, tooling and operational costs [6, 7]. The technology enables the fabrication of large composite components, together with the flexibility to co-cure or meld parts to produce complex components with superior structural integration. As part of an initiative to encourage development and pan-industrial exploitation of composites technology in the UK, the University of Manchester has, with Northern Aerospace Technology Exploitation Centre (NATEC) and local industrial funding, installed and commissioned a Quickstep process plant for the purposes of industrial evaluation, prototyping and product development.
Flexible Bladder sealing Mould tool floating and mould to pressure chamber supported in HTF
Figure 1. Schematic of Quickstep process Temperature control is maintained by circulating the HTF through the pressure chamber. As fluids have a heat energy per unit volume capacity much greater than that of a gas, the heat transfer rate between the HTF and laminate is much higher than that achievable in an an autoclave. This allows rapid heating/cooling rates to be achieved and provides precise control of the resin viscosity especially during the early consolidation phase of the cure. The high heat transfer rate allows a lower vicosity to be obtained in the laminate than that achievable with a slower autoclave heat-up rate. This is made possible by the laminate reaching consolidation dwell temperatures with reduced chemical cross-linking having occurred within the matrix (see Figure 2). By achieving lower viscosities in the laminate, excellent consolidation is obtainable at low applied pressures (typically vacuum, plus 10 kPa externally from the fluid). The HTF also acts as a large thermal sink, removing any excess heat generated in an exothermic reaction, thus a constant cure temperature may more easily be maintained, even for thick laminates. On top of the mean static pressure, an alternating pressure, generated by a vibrating diaphragm, may also be applied to the stack via the HTF in order to facilitate laminate compaction and minimise void content.
100000
Viscosity (poise)
30
40
Time (min)
Figure 2. Variation of viscosity in Toray G83C Prepreg for different heating rates (Quickstep: 22 and 11C/min, Autoclave: 2.8C/min)
The HTF is stored in three separate tanks, a hot tank, medium tank and cold tank (See Figure 3). Heat energy can be efficiently accumulated over many hours and stored in the tanks and used repeatedly for many cure cycles unlike the consumables (eg. pressurised nitrogen) in autoclave curing. The pumping and recycling of the HTF to the curing chambers can take place over minutes thus allowing for rapid heat-up and cool-down of the part. With the high level of available heat-energy the cross-linking takes place rapidly and in a fraction of the time achievable within an autoclave. As a result of such rapid curing, the final laminate can be markedly different from those produced in an autoclave and higher glass transition temperatures and material properties have been demonstrated for some materials [8].
(a)
(b)
Figure 3. (a) Quickstep QS5 evaluation and prototyping plant and (b) small curing chamber
Temperature
2nd Dwell Time 2nd Ramp Time 1st Dwell Time 1st Ramp Time Cooling Time
Room Temp
Cure Cycle A1 Q1 Q2 Q3
Table 1: Comparison of autoclave and Quickstep cure cycles The cure cycle optimization process did not look to minimize specimen thickness and only required that the final laminte thickness was within an acceptable manufacturing tolerance (0.2mm) of the nominal autoclave thickness (2.25mm). Associated work with other bleeder and breather material combinations has produced laminates of comparable thickness to that of the autoclave process. DSC measurements of the Quickstep cured specimens (Figure 3) show two features; a reaction exotherm for the 914 epoxy between 200C and 300C; and an endothermic peak between 70C and 100C. The latter is most likely due to a phase change in either the excess curing agent (DICY) or the thermoplastic toughener included in the pre-preg. The autoclave sample (A1) is almost fully cured after its cure cycle alone, whilst the Quickstep specimens (Q1-3) are significantly less so. The Q1 cycle produced a material that was significantly unreacted and which had only just reached its gel point and was barely vitrified. Some residual cure was also observed for the Q2 and Q3 cycles but at a much reduced level to that of the Q1 specimens. After post-curing, all specimens were fully cured and DSC measurements showed only the low temperature phase change peak (Figure 4). Note that the different appearance of the Q3 data in Figures 3 and 4 is a result of regular maintenance on the DSC having been carried out between testing of the A1/Q1-2 specimens and the Q3
specimens.
0.4 0.4 Q3
0.0 -0.2 -0.4 -0.6 -0.8 -100 Q1 Q2 A1 0 100 200 300 400
0.2
Q3
Q2 Q1 A1
100
200
300
400
Temperature (C)
Temperature (C)
Optical microscopy revealed significant void content in the Q1-2 specimens compared to that found in the autoclave processed laminate. The Q3 cycle produced a void content comparable to that of the A1 specimens (see Figure 5).
A1 Q1
Q2
Q3
Figure 5. Optical micrographs of composite samples manufactured using A1, Q1, Q2 and Q3 cure cycles.
MECHANICAL TESTING
Mechanical testing was performed at the University of Manchester. Specimens were manufactured using the conventional autoclave cure-cycle A1 and the Quickstep cure cycle Q3 (4 post-cured specimens for each test and process combination). The mechanical
property test-matrix was based upon the Hurel-Hispano batch acceptance test matrix. The relevant industry test specifications are summarised in Table 2 (note that where test standards are for unidirectional laminates they have been used for guidance on the procedures used in this study). Test panels comprising 8 ply laminates were prepared with the 3 fibre configurations listed (note that the angles refer to a single axis within each woven cloth prepreg lamina). Property Tensile Strength (MPa) Standard NF EN 2561 Configuration 8 plies at 0 Autoclave 600 50 240 10 226 4 75 4 Quickstep 660 30 270 10 229 4 83 2
8 plies quasi-isotropic Open Hole Tensile NF EN 2561 Strength (MPa) (0/45/90) In-Plane Shear Strength (MPa) NF EN 2561 8 plies at 45 8 plies at 0
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Quickstep is an advanced composite component manufacturing process for out of autoclave processing of high-quality, low-cost, low-weight components using faster cure-cycles. This process offers distinct advantages to companies looking to introduce composite technology to their product range. A process evaluation and product development plant has been
installed at the University of Manchester for use by UK industry. This plant has been installed on the basis of extremely promising results from an initial feasibility study conducted by the University and a local industrial consortium. In that study laminate samples of 914/40/G703 epoxy carbon prepreg have been successfully manufactured using the Quickstep technique, a novel out-of-autoclave process. A considerable reduction in the overall process cycle time (50%), compared with conventional autoclave curing, was achieved due to the precise temperature control and high heating/cooling rates (8C/min) that are possible with Quickstep. The Quickstep cured specimens exhibited a higher glass transition temperature and were on average 8% thicker than the autoclave samples. The thickness/volume fraction effect may be explained by the lower pressure applied during the Quickstep cure cycle resulting in reduced resin bleed out. Comparable void content and mechanical test data were obtained for the Quickstep and autoclave specimens. The tooling cost for a simple aircraft component was estimated to be 82% cheaper for the Quickstep process compared to that for an autoclave process.
REFERENCES
[1] Bader MG (2002), Selection of composite materials and manufacturing routes for costeffective performance, Composites Part A, 33, 913-934. [2] USDoD (2002), The Composite Materials Handbook, MIL-HDBK-17, US DoD & FAA. [3] FAA (1997), Handbook: Manufacturing Advanced Composite Components for Airframes, DOT/FAA/AR-96/75, FAA. [4] Griffiths B and Noble N (2004), Process and tooling for low cost, rapid curing of composite structures, SAMPE Journal, 40(1), 41-46. [5] Hodgkin JH and Rabu N (2000), A new development in high-speed composite fabrication, Proceedings of 45th Int. SAMPE Symposium, Longbeach CA, 2274-2282. [6] Anon (2004), Quickstep process slashes time from auto hood, Performance Materials, 19(9), 4. [7] Bader MG and Noble N (2004), A comparison of the costs of manufacture of a laminated composite component by conventional autoclave and a non-autoclave process, Proceedings of SAMPE-EUROPE, Paris. [8] Coenen V, Hatrick M, Law H, Brosius D, Nesbitt A and Bond D (2005), A Feasibility Study of Quickstep Processing of an Aerospace Composite Material , Proceedings of SAMPEEUROPE, Paris.