COMPARISON OF HEAT SOURCES FOR AUTOMATED DRY FIBRE PLACEMENT: XENON FLASHLAMP VS. INFRARED HEATING

Kurzfassung

Automated Dry Fibre Placement (DFP) is considered a viable technology for preform production of advanced composites. In this process, the heat source crucially determines the achievable lay-down rates and thus ultimately the effective productivity. Therefore high energy density heat sources are desirable. In this context, flashlamp heating is a promising technology especially for large part production. In this study, the Heraeus humm3 flashlamp system is benchmarked to infrared (IR) radiators in terms of peel strength and heat distribution at various lay-down speeds. For this purpose a parameter study is conducted to identify suitable processing parameters for binder activation. A significant increase to lay-down speeds of 30 m/min compared to 6 m/min with infrared heaters is accomplished with enhanced controllability of the process regarding the energy transfer into the material. The temperature profiles measured indicate more uniform distribution along the tracks. Subsequently the opportunities and limitations of applying a flashlamp heat source in a DFP process are discussed.