Simulation and validation of air flow and heat transfer in an autoclave process for definition of thermal boundary conditions during curing of composite parts

Aerospace carbon fibre-reinforced components are cured under high pressure (7 bar) and temperature in an autoclave. As in an industrial environment, the loading of an autoclave usually changes from cycle to cycle causing different thermal masses and airflow pattern which leads to an inhomogeneous temperature distribution inside the carbon fiber-reinforced plastic part. Finally, the overall process can be delayed and the part quality can be compromised. In this paper, the heat transfer in a small laboratory autoclave has been investigated using calorimeter measurements and a fluid dynamic model. A complex turbulent flow pattern with locally varying heat transfer coefficient has been observed. Especially, the pressure and the inlet fluid velocity have been identified as sensitive process parameters. Further finite element simulations with adjusted boundary conditions provide accurate results of the curing process inside of the components for selective process control. The heat transfer coefficient has been found to be almost stationary during the observed constant pressure autoclave process allowing a separated investigation of the heat transfer coefficient and the curing of the components. The presented method promises therefore a detailed observation of the autoclave process with reduced computational effort.