Automated Tape Placement (ATP) is widely used in the aerospace industry to produce large composite structures with complex geometry. Electron beam (EB) irradiation for curing composite materials enables fabrication of parts without autoclaves, which reduces manufacturing costs. A collaboration between Science Research Laboratory, Applied Poleramic, Inc., NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, and Thiokol Propulsion has developed resins, and electron-beam gun technology for in-situ electron-beam (EB) curing of ATP composites. This paper presents a review of a two-year project to development an EB-ATP process. Exposure dose was optimized to achieve improved mechanical composite properties. Several epoxy resin formulations were tested. It was shown that glass transition temperature obeys the Time-Temperature-Transformation (TTT) principle if E-beam curing is performed at low temperature without composite heating due to exothermic reaction. A demonstration part was fabricated using EB-ATP technology with optimized parameters. The part selected is a prototype access door for space shuttle solid rocket booster. Several issues related to the process features are discussed.
Automated tape placement with in-situ electron beam cure: Process parameters optimization
2002
17 Seiten, 13 Quellen
Conference paper
English
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