On the interfacial thermal properties of two rough surfaces in contact in preimpregnated composites consolidation

Composite manufacturing processes usually proceed from preimpregnated preforms that are consolidated by simultaneously applying heat and pressure ensuring a perfect contact compulsory for making possible molecular diffusion. However, fine representations and descriptions of surfaces remain challenging because the necessity of representing their finest scale details. Even if in reality two rough surfaces are put in contact, heated and then squeezed, the associated numerical simulation becomes in most cases extremely expensive. Thus, a simplifying hypothesis has been widely considered, one relating to the consideration of a single surface resulting from the sum of both real surfaces and then its compression from a rigid flat plate. This work aims at elucidating the equivalence of both process representations by analyzing the thermal resistance of different synthetic rough surfaces created from different growing dynamics.