Study on Curing Deformation of Composite Thin Shells Prepared by M-CRTM with Adjustable Injection Gap

Abstract

A composite thin shell with a high fiber volume fraction prepared by resin transfer molding (RTM) may have void defects, which create deformations in the final curing and lead to the final product being unable to meet the actual assembly requirements. Taking a helmet shell as an example, a multi-directional compression RTM (M-CRTM) method with an adjustable injection gap is proposed according to the shape of the thin shell. This method can increase the injection gap to reduce the fiber volume fraction during the injection process, making it easier for the resin to penetrate the reinforcement and for air bubbles to exit the mold. X-ray CT detection shows that the porosity of the helmet shell prepared by the newly developed technology is 36.6% lower than that of the RTM-molded sample. The void’s distribution is more uniform, and its size is decreased, as is the number of voids, especially large voids. The results show that the maximum curing deformation of the M-CRTM-molded helmet shell is reduced by 13.7% compared to the RTM molded sample. This paper then further studies the deformation types of the shell and analyzes the causes of such results, which plays an important role in promoting the application of composite thin shells.