AUTOCLAVE INFUSION OF AEROSPACE RIBS BASED ON PROCESS MONITORING AND CONTROL BY ULTRASOUND SENSORS

Abstract

In this paper the manufacturing of a series of two wing carbon fiber reinforced ribs by an autoclave based infusion process is presented. The manufacturing concept is based on a low cost male aluminum tool, where the expected spring-in deformation was fed into the tool design. The spring-in angles were predicted by a novel pheno-numerical simulation. The manufacturing process was monitored by a network of a high number of ultrasound sensors, which were mounted on the bottom tool side and on the vacuum membrane. The sensors are easy to integrate, low cost and do not require direct contact to the part. Due to the sensors all quality relevant parameters of the composite part can be acquired over the whole process. The results of the flow front, laminate thickness and cure monitoring and their use for process control and optimization are presented. The autoclave based infusion the manipulation of flow front and laminate thickness through the setting of pressure, where the process monitoring results are used as input.