Thermal Analysis of In-Situ Curing for Thermoset, Hoop-Wound Structures Using Infrared Heating: Part I—Predictions Assuming Independent Scattering

Abstract

A curing process for unidirectional thermoset prepreg wound composite structures using infrared (IR) in-situ heating is investigated. In this method, the infrared energy is from all incident angles onto the composite structure to initiate the curing during processing. Due to the parallel geometry of filaments in wound composite structures, the radiative scattering coefficient and phase function within the structure depend strongly on both the wavelength and the angle of incidence of the IR incident radiation onto the fibers. A two-dimensional thermochemical and radiative heat transfer model for in-situ curing of thermoset, hoop-wound structures using IR heating is presented. The thermal transport properties that depend on the process state are also incorporated in the analysis. A nongray, anisotropic absorbing, emitting, and scattering unidirectional fibrous medium within a matrix of nonunity refractive index is considered. The temperatures and degrees of cure within the composite during processing are demonstrated numerically as a function of the configuration of IR heat source, nondimensional power input, mandrel winding speed, and size of wound composite. Comparison between the numerical result and experimental data is presented.