A study of the integrated composite material structures under different fabrication processing

Based on the typical T-shaped integrated structures, three manufacturing schemes, such as co-cure, co-bonding and secondary bonding, are discussed in this paper. In the curing process of composite T-shaped integrated structures, the mechanism of the warpage deformation and internal stresses are analyzed, and a theoretical model is established. Some important curing mechanical properties of the T-shaped integrated structures are evaluated using the finite element method, including the internal temperature and the degree of cure, the warpage deformation and the internal stresses due to the internal exothermic chemical reaction and the volumetric shrinkage. The evolutions of material parameters are also considered while the degree of cure varied. And the relationships among the different manufacture schemes, the warpage deformation and internal stresses are studied. The results show that both warpage deformation and internal stresses are closely correlated with the fabrication process and the selection of different fabrication process can prominently reduce the warpage deformation and the internal stresses.