Composite Fiber Tow in Fiber Placement By

With the initial production of advanced composites, the use of composite materials has been growing rapidly in many industrial fields. The major impact has been with the weight-sensitive aerospace applications, where high strength/stiffness-to-weight ratios are very important factors. Conventionally, composites structure fabrication was conducted by hand lay-up and subsequent autoclave-based curing processes. However, the demand for cost-effective and efficient composite manufacturing is growing and thus perpetuating the replacement of existing hand lay-up processing. Automated fiber placement draws special attention for its low cost potential, flexible, and automated process. This fiber placement was investigated through the Function Block Diagram approach, and as a result, it was concluded that two sub-processes, heat towpreg and compact towpreg, are opportunity areas for better fiber placement process. This dissertation develops a heat transfer model with new heating alternatives for the heat towpreg sub-process and analyzes compaction force with a currently use