Analysis and optimization of temperature distribution in carbon fiber reinforced composite materials during microwave curing process

Vacuum assisted microwave curing technologies and modified optical sensing systems have been employed to investigate the influence of ply orientation and thickness on through-thickness temperature distribution of carbon fiber reinforced composite laminates. Two different types of epoxy systems have been studied. The results demonstrated that the ply orientation did not affect the temperature distribution of composite materials. However, the thickness was an important influencing factor. Nearly 10 °C temperature difference was found in 22.5 mm thick laminates. Through analyzing the physical mechanisms during microwave curing, the temperature difference decreased when the heat-loss in surface laminates was reduced and the absorption of microwave energy in the center laminates was improved. The maximum temperature difference of the samples formed using the modified microwave curing technologies in this research could be reduced by 79% to 2.1 °C. Compared with the 5.29 °C temperature difference of laminates using thermal heating process, the maximum temperature difference in laminates using modified microwave curing technologies was reduced by 60%, and the curing time was cut down by 25%.