An Orthotropic Integrated Flow-Stress Model for Process Simulation of Composite Materials—Part I: Two-Phase Systems

Abstract

An integrated flow-stress (IFS) model provides a seamless and mechanistic connection between the two distinct regimes during the manufacturing process of composite materials, namely, fluid flow in the pregelation stage of the thermoset resin and stress development in the composite when it acts as a solid material. In this two-part paper, the two- and three-phase isotropic IFS models previously developed by the authors are extended to the general case of composite materials with orthotropic constituents. Part I presents the two-phase, fluid-solid, orthotropic model formulation for the case where the fluid phase solidifies during the course of curing. Part II extends the orthotropic formulation to a three-phase model that includes a gas phase as the third constituent of the composite material system. A broader definition of material properties in poroelasticity formulation is adopted in the development of the general orthotropic formulation. The model is implemented in a two-dimensional (2D) plane strain u-v-P finite element (FE) code and its capability in predicting the flow-compaction behavior and stress development is demonstrated through application to a case study involving an L-shaped unidirectional laminate undergoing curing on a conforming convex tool. Comparison of the results with those obtained from sole modeling of the stress development reveals the importance of capturing the simultaneous and interactive effect of the mechanisms involved during the entire process cycle using an IFS modeling approach presented in this paper.