Temperature field of thick thermoset composite laminates during cure process

The development of temperature field of thick thermoset matrix laminates manufactured by autoclave vacuum bag process were measured and compared with the numerically calculated results. The finite element formulation of the transient heat transfer problem was carried out for polymeric matrix composite materials from the heat transfer differential equations including internal heat generation produced by exothermic chemical reactions. The finite element analysis software, which was based on the general finite element software package, was developed for numerical simulation of the entire composite process. From the experimental and numerical results, it was found that the measured temperatures profiles were in good agreement with the numerical ones, and conventional cure cycles recommended by prepreg manufacturers for thin laminates should be modified to reduce out-of-plane temperature gradient. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.