Spring-in prediction for carbon/epoxy aerospace composite structure

This paper presents an engineering method to predict the spring-back of aircraft thick composite structures produced through an autoclaving process. The model previously developed by the same authors is firstly enhanced to be used in an aeronautic case study: an Airbus A350 rib. Results show that the out-of-plane shear stress distribution in the interface and the through-thickness in-plane normal stress gradient of the laminate are correctly represented. The interface is shown to have only a small influence on the final deformation and therefore a global model of the structure can be proposed. Finally a methodology is proposed to predict complex structures through a global-local approach.