Journal Article

The effect of semi-cured elements on the quality of integrated composite structures

Mavrogordato, Mark, Zivkovic, Petar, McMahon, Turlough, Radhakrishnan, Arjun, Kratz, James

2025

Overview

There is a demand to ramp up the rate of production of primary aerostructures and as such new processing methods are required. This study investigates a two-stage process for integrating composite structures. In Stage 1, a series of doublers are infused and semi-cured to a target degree of cure ( α ). In Stage 2, these doublers are integrated into a preformed stiffened panel, to increase thickness locally, followed by infusion. The impact of this integration on quality in terms of thickness and void content of the semi-cured doublers is assessed through the processing stages. The results indicate that semi-curing elements to a higher degree of cure ( α  = 0.74) around the gel point ( α  = 0.70) of the epoxy matrix have minimal impact on the relative quality of the final structure. However, at a lower semi-cure ( α  = 0.47), the void (> 100 µm) content increased from 0.8 to 1.92% during the secondary stage. Tracking the thermal profile of the semi-cured elements through the stages combined with a Cure-Temperature-Transition diagram shows that at a lower degree of cure, the resin in the semi-cured doublers will be in a liquid phase during Stage 2 leading to the potential for resin reflow.

• Publisher: Springer London,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Adhesive bonding / Advanced manufacturing technologies / Aircraft / Automation / Bond strength / CAE) and Design / Composite structures / Computer-Aided Engineering (CAD / Costs / Curing / Engineering / Industrial and Production Engineering / Liquid phases / Manufacturing / Mechanical Engineering / Media Management / Original Article / Process controls / Resins / Thickness