Numerical and Experimental Study on the Effect of Lay-Up Type and Structural Elements on Thickness Uniformity of L-Shaped Laminates

Based on the two-dimensional resin flow and fiber compaction model developed by our group, we studied the cured laminate thickness uniformity of the L-shaped CF/BMI resin laminates and the effects of lay-up type and structural elements on it. Both the simulated and experimental data showed that the quasi-isotropic laminate thickness was more uniform than that of the [90°]_n laminates and the cured thickness of laminates molded by rigid convex tool was more uniform than that molded by the rigid concave tool. Lay-up type has a great influence on the cured laminate thickness uniformity. For the quasi-isotropic laminates, the structural elements, such as curvature radius, flat part length, and the number of plies, did not have much influence on the cured laminate thickness uniformity in the studied scope. For the [90°]_n laminates, the corner radius has a larger effect on the corner consolidation in comparison with the flat part length and the number of plies. According to the simulated results, resin pressure and consolidation time were largely affected by the lay-up type, due to the different permeability and compressibility. The rich resin defect was observed in the metallographic photos of the corner region of the [90°]_n laminates fabricated with the rigid concave tool, which demonstrated that the resin flow in the laminates played an important rule and validated the numerical prediction. Good agreement between the simulated results and experimental data demonstrated the reliability and universality of the numerical simulation method. These results are greatly helpful for the control of defects in angle-bended laminates and the optimization of cure cycle in autoclave process.