Advanced carbon fiber composite out-of-autoclave laminate manufacture via nanostructured out-of-oven conductive curing

Next-generation composite manufacturing processes are needed to overcome several limitations of conventional manufacturing processes (e.g., high energy consumption). Here we explore, via experiments and modeling, the characteristics of the newly developed out-of-oven (OoO) curing technique that cures a composite laminate via resistive heating of a carbon nanotube film. When compared to oven curing of an aerospace-grade out-of-autoclave (OoA) carbon fiber prepreg advanced composite laminate, the OoO curing reduces energy consumption by over two orders of magnitude (14 vs. 0.1 MJ). Thermophysical and mechanical tests including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), short beam shear (SBS), and ex-situ and in-situ double-edge notch tension (DENT) indicate that the physical and mechanical properties of OoO-cured laminates are equivalent to those of oven-cured (baseline) laminates. In addition to energy savings, the OoO curing process has the potential to reduce part-to-part variations through improved spatiotemporal temperature control.