Thermal Curing Induced Deformation of Fiber Composite Laminates

The curing of fiber-reinforced composite laminates is a complex thermal-chemical-mechanical coupling process, during which composite laminates experience shape change because of resin thermal curing induced composite stress. For composite structures with high shape precision demands, the internal stress should be reduced or even avoided. According to the coupling method of multi-physical fields, the curing process and the process-induced deformation of composite laminates were simulated systematically in this work. The influencing factors are classified into two categories: matrix-dominated and fiber-dominated. The former category consists of curing shrinkage and reaction heat. Reaction heat influences the curing deformation through affecting the temperature and curing degree fields; however curing shrinkage has a direct impact on the strain. The latter one consists of ply orientation and fiber volume fraction, which influence the curing deformation by affecting the mechanical properties of the composite laminates. This study is helpful for understanding the relationship among the thermal, chemical, and mechanical behaviors.