Effect of Processing on Precision of Composite Panels

As the demand for precision composite parts increases, understanding the effects of processing parameters on composite precision is needed. This study is devoted to observing the warping tendency of angles and investigating the effects of the part thickness, tool material, and stacking orientation on the precision of angled composite parts. Composite parts with both concave and convex angles were fabricated with various thickness, tool material, and stacking orientation. It was found that composite angled parts always warped inward. As the part angle decreased, the warp angle decreased. The resin volume fraction gradient induced a further inward warping tendency at convex angles. Rigidity improvement achieved by increasing the thickness overcame this resin gradient effect. The precision at convex angles was, thus, improved. However, the precision at concave angles worsened with increasing part thickness. The tool material was found to significantly affect the part precision at both concave and convex angles. Angled parts fabricated in molds made of advanced composite tools yielded much better angle precision than that fabricated in mold made of aluminum tools. As far as the stacking orientation was concerned, the best precision at a 135° convex angle was achieved with a stacking orientation of 0/90/0/90/0/90/90/0], whereas at a 90° concave angle the best precision was achieved with 90/0]_4Tfor a laminate of 8 plies. A stacking sequence with a 0/90] orientation was found to cause upward warping. This could be used to counterbalance other inherent warping tendencies.