Heat transfer in compression molding of thermoplastic composite laminates and sandwich panels

The key to finding relevant process parameters in manufacturing of thermoplastic sandwich panels is an accurate prediction of the temperature at the interface between core and face during manufacturing, as this temperature is critical for the bond between the constituents. In this paper a model for prediction of the temperature distribution within a sandwich panel during manufacturing is presented. The process of face manufacturing by compression molding also is modeled, both for a one-dimensional case using finite difference methods to investigate effects of varying thermal contact conductances, and for a three-dimensional (3D) case using finite element methods to study temperature edge effects. The models are verified by experiments, in which a preconsolidated glass fiber/polyamide 12 laminate is used, partly as a ply in a thicker laminate, partly as face sheet for a sandwich panel. The core material used is polymethacrylimide foam.