Forming device and method of composite material

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of composite material forming, and particularly relates to a forming device and method for a composite material. The device comprises an upper mold, a lower mold, a composite material prefabricated body, a middle mold frame, a plurality of first sealing pieces, a plurality of second sealing pieces and a plurality of third sealing pieces, an opening is formed in the side wall of the mold, the upper mold is connected with the lower mold through a middle mold frame, a cavity is formed between the upper mold and the lower mold, the opening is communicated with the cavity, second sealing pieces are arranged on the side, facing the upper mold, the mold core and the lower mold, of the middle mold frame, a third sealing piece is arranged on a composite prefabricated body, and the middle mold frame is connected with the composite prefabricated body through the third sealing piece. And the first sealing element is connected with the third sealing element through the second sealing element. Therefore, under the combined action of the sealing pieces, multi-dimensional sealing is achieved, the effect of inhibiting leakage of an auxiliary forming medium from different interfaces in the transfer process can be achieved together, the fringe effect is fundamentally solved, and a guarantee is provided for a prefabricated body wettability testing method.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of composite material molding, and in particular to a composite material molding device and method. Background Art

[0002] Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) is a liquid molding composite material manufacturing process. The principle is to lay a fiber preform in the mold cavity, then use liquid resin to infiltrate the fiber preform, and obtain the desired composite material product after curing. However, in the process of infiltrating the fiber preform with liquid resin, the resin often flows rapidly from the irregular gap between the edge of the fiber preform and the mold to the glue outlet, so that the fiber is discharged from the glue outlet before it is fully infiltrated. The existence of this edge effect will cause incomplete infiltration of the fiber preform and produce dry spots, which greatly reduces the mechanical properties of the composite material product and will also have an adverse effect on the test results of the fiber preform permeability test.

[0003] In the related art, if the method of changing the parameters of the liquid resin injection or adding a gasket to the edge of the fiber preform is adopted, it is impossible to fundamentally suppress the occurrence of the edge effect; if the edge of the fiber preform is used as a linear injection edge, the resin is allowed to gradually penetrate into the interior of the fiber preform from the edge, this method is only applicable to composite materials with simple structures, and is not applicable to composite materials with complex structures. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, the present application is proposed. The present application provides a composite material molding device and method.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present application, a composite material molding device is provided, which is used in a resin transfer molding process, comprising:

[0006] An upper mold, a lower mold, a composite material preform, a middle mold frame, a plurality of first seals, a plurality of second seals and a plurality of third seals; the side walls of the upper mold and / or the lower mold are provided with openings for the inflow and / or outflow of the molding medium, the upper mold is connected to the lower mold through the middle mold frame, a cavity is provided between the upper mold and the lower mold, the opening is connected to the cavity, the middle mold frame is provided with a plurality of grooves, each first seal is provided in each groove for sealing the cavity, a core is provided at the portion of the upper mold facing the cavity, a second seal is provided on one side of the middle mold frame facing the upper mold, the core and the lower mold, the composite material preform is located in the cavity, the third seal is provided on the composite material preform, each middle mold frame is connected to the composite material preform through each third seal, and each first seal is connected to each third seal through each second seal.

[0007] Compared with the prior art, the composite material forming device provided in the present application includes an upper mold, a lower mold, a composite material preform, a middle mold frame, a plurality of first seals, a plurality of second seals and a plurality of third seals. The side walls of the upper mold and / or the lower mold are provided with openings for the inflow and / or outflow of the forming medium. The upper mold is connected to the lower mold through the middle mold frame. There is a cavity between the upper mold and the lower mold. The opening is connected to the cavity, and the composite material preform is located in the cavity. Therefore, the composite material preform can be impregnated by injecting the forming medium from the opening for the forming medium to flow into the cavity. In this process, the first seal provided in the groove of the middle mold frame can improve the sealing effect of the cavity, avoiding the leakage of the forming medium and product quality problems caused by poor sealing. The second seal distributed on the side of the middle mold frame facing the upper mold, the core and the lower mold can block the leakage path of the forming medium from multiple directions, providing a relatively closed environment for the forming medium transfer process. The third seal is arranged on the composite material preform and connects the middle mold frame to it. While sealing, it can also enhance the connection stability between the middle mold frame and the composite material preform to a certain extent, prevent the preform from shifting during the flow of the auxiliary molding medium, and ensure the position accuracy of the preform in the cavity.

[0008] When the molding medium is under pressure, it continuously and evenly impregnates the composite material preform, so that it is completely infiltrated by the molding medium, and then the molding medium is cured, so that the composite material preform and the molding medium are firmly combined to form a composite material with a specific shape and performance. After the composite material is formed, the upper mold, the middle mold frame and the lower mold are opened in sequence to take the formed composite material product out of the cavity.

[0009] It can be seen that under the joint action of the first seal, the second seal and the third seal, multi-dimensional sealing is achieved, which helps to ensure the sealing of the cavity and can work together to inhibit the leakage of the molding medium from different interfaces during the transfer process, so that the composite material preform can be fully infiltrated in the molding medium, thereby improving the mechanical properties of the prepared composite material, thereby fundamentally solving the edge effect problem and providing a guarantee for the preform infiltration performance test method.

[0010] According to another aspect of the present application, a molding method of a composite material is provided, which is applied to the above-mentioned molding device, comprising:

[0011] Step 1, arranging each third sealing member at an end of the composite material preform;

[0012] Step 2: a second seal is provided on one side of each middle mold frame provided with the first seal facing the upper mold, the core and the lower mold, and each second seal is distributed at intervals along the radial direction of the middle mold frame;

[0013] Step 3, connecting the composite material preform provided with the third sealing member to the middle mold frame, and connecting each first sealing member to each third sealing member through each second sealing member;

[0014] Step 4, fixing the middle mold frame on the surface of the lower mold, so that the composite material preform provided with the third sealing member is located in the mold cavity, and moving the upper mold toward the lower mold until the upper mold and the lower mold are tightly connected;

[0015] Step five, injecting a molding aid medium into the mold cavity from the opening, and obtaining a composite material after solidification.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the composite material forming method provided in the present application are the same as the beneficial effects of the composite material forming device mentioned above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0017] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the technology as claimed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] By describing the embodiments of the present application in more detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present application will become more apparent. The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present application and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present application, they are used to explain the present application and do not constitute a limitation of the present application. In the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same components or steps.

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a composite material forming device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0020] Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of a mold of a composite material forming device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0021] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing one of the connection of three sealing members in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0022] Figure 4 Another connection schematic diagram of three sealing members in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0023] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing the connection between the composite material preform and the third sealing member in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0024] Figure 6 A flow chart showing a method for forming a composite material according to an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0025] Figure 7 A schematic structural diagram of a third sealing member according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0026] Reference numerals:

[0027] 1-upper mold; 101-core; 2-lower mold; 3-composite material preform; 4-middle mold frame; 401-groove; 5-first sealing member; 6-second sealing member; 7-third sealing member; 701-first sealing section; 702-second sealing section; 8-opening; 9-cavity and 10-foaming material. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application more obvious, the exemplary embodiments according to the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments of the present application, and it should be understood that the present application is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described here.

[0029] Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) is a liquid molding composite material manufacturing process. The principle is to lay a fiber preform in the mold cavity, then use liquid resin to infiltrate the fiber preform, and obtain the desired composite material product after curing. However, in the process of infiltrating the fiber preform with liquid resin, the resin often flows rapidly from the irregular gap between the edge of the fiber preform and the mold to the glue outlet, so that the fiber is discharged from the glue outlet before it is fully infiltrated. The existence of this edge effect will cause incomplete infiltration of the fiber preform and produce dry spots, which greatly reduces the mechanical properties of the composite material product and will also have an adverse effect on the test results of the fiber preform permeability test.

[0030] In the related art, the method of adjusting the injection method to change the injection pressure and time can be adopted, but this method belongs to process optimization and cannot completely suppress the occurrence of edge effect. In addition, the method of inserting a pad at the edge of the preform can also be adopted to apply greater pressure to the edge of the preform, reducing the pore thickness or the size in the up and down direction. This method can alleviate the edge effect to a certain extent, but there is still a phenomenon of resin overflowing from the gap, and it is impossible to fundamentally suppress the occurrence of edge effect. In addition, the edge of the fiber preform can also be used as a linear injection edge to allow the resin to gradually penetrate into the fiber preform from the edge, but this method has great limitations and is only applicable to composite materials with simple structures.

[0031] To better understand the text, the following is an explanation of the nouns that appear in the text:

[0032] In the RTM process, the upper mold is the upper part of the RTM mold, which is usually located at the top when the mold is closed, and cooperates with the lower mold and the middle mold frame to form a closed mold cavity. The lower mold is the lower part of the RTM mold, which is located at the bottom during the molding process and is the basic support part of the entire mold. The middle mold frame is a component located between the upper mold and the lower mold. By selecting middle mold frames of different specifications and heights, it can adapt to the production of products of different thicknesses. The core is a component used to form a cavity or a specific shape structure inside the product. The cavity refers to the space surrounded by the upper mold, lower mold and middle mold frame after the mold is closed to hold the resin and shape it into a product. It is the area where the resin flows and solidifies inside the mold to finally form the shape of the product.

[0033] In response to the above problems, the present application provides a composite material molding device for use in a resin transfer molding process, which can enable the composite material preform to be fully infiltrated in the resin, thereby improving the mechanical properties of the prepared composite material, thereby fundamentally solving the edge effect problem and providing a guarantee for the preform infiltration performance testing method. Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a composite material forming device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of a mold of a molding device for a composite material according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 3 A connection schematic diagram of one of the three sealing components of the embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 4 Another connection schematic diagram of three sealing components according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 5 The schematic diagram of the connection between the composite material preform and the third sealing member in the embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 2 The mold mentioned above actually refers to the upper mold, lower mold and middle mold frame. The cross-sectional view shows the gap in the mold. During the flow of the molding medium, there is a certain probability that it will flow out from the gap, thus causing the edge effect. Figures 1 to 5 As shown, the molding device includes an upper mold 1, a lower mold 2, a composite material preform 3, a middle mold frame 4, a plurality of first seals 5, a plurality of second seals 6 and a plurality of third seals 7; the side walls of the upper mold 1 and / or the lower mold 2 are provided with openings 8 for the inflow and / or outflow of the molding medium, the upper mold 1 is connected to the lower mold 2 through the middle mold frame 4, a cavity 9 is provided between the upper mold 1 and the lower mold 2, the opening 8 is connected to the cavity 9, the middle mold frame 4 is provided with a plurality of grooves 401, each first seal 5 is arranged in each groove 401 for sealing the cavity 9, a core 101 is provided at the portion of the upper mold 1 facing the cavity 9, a second seal 6 is provided on one side of the middle mold frame 4 facing the upper mold 1, the core 101 and the lower mold 2, the composite material preform 3 is located in the cavity 9, the third seal 7 is arranged on the composite material preform 3, each middle mold frame 4 is connected to the composite material preform 3 through each third seal 7, and each first seal 5 is connected to each third seal 7 through each second seal 6.

[0034] It can be understood that the number of openings 8 in the embodiment of the present application is multiple, including at least one opening 8 for the inflow of the molding medium and at least one opening 8 for the outflow of the molding medium. For example, the opening 8 for the inflow of the molding medium can be provided on the side wall of the upper mold 1 and connected to the cavity 9; the opening 8 for the outflow of the molding medium can be provided on the side wall of the lower mold 2 and connected to the cavity 9. For another example, the opening 8 for the inflow of the molding medium can be provided on the side wall of the lower mold 2 and connected to the cavity 9; the opening 8 for the outflow of the molding medium can be provided on the side wall of the upper mold 1 and connected to the cavity 9. In addition, the molding medium in the embodiment of the present application can be a resin or other medium that can be cured and molded, which can be adjusted according to actual conditions and is not limited here. At the same time, the first sealing member 5 in the embodiment of the present application can be a rubber ring, a sealing gasket or other components that can play a sealing role, which can be adjusted according to actual conditions and is not limited here.

[0035] In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the upper mold 1 is connected to the lower mold 2 through the middle mold frame 4, and there is a cavity 9 between the upper mold 1 and the lower mold 2, so that the upper mold 1, the lower mold 2 and the middle mold frame 4 can jointly constitute the cavity 9, wherein a plurality of grooves 401 provided on the middle mold frame 4 can enable the first seal 5 to be stably installed on the middle mold frame 4, ensuring that each first seal 5 can accurately fit with the corresponding upper mold 1 or lower mold 2, thereby improving the sealing performance of the cavity 9, preventing the leakage of the molding medium, and suppressing the occurrence of the edge effect to a certain extent.

[0036] In the specific implementation, the molding medium is injected into the cavity 9 from the opening 8 for the molding medium to flow in, and the composite material preform 3 begins to be impregnated. In this process, the first seal 5 arranged in the groove 401 of the middle mold frame 4 can improve the sealing effect of the cavity 9, avoiding the leakage of the molding medium and product quality problems caused by poor sealing. The second seal 6 distributed on the side of the middle mold frame 4 facing the upper mold 1, the core 101 and the lower mold 2 can block the leakage path of the molding medium from multiple directions, providing a relatively closed environment for the molding medium transfer process. The third seal 7 is arranged on the composite material preform 3 and connects the middle mold frame 4 to it. While sealing, it can also enhance the connection stability between the middle mold frame 4 and the composite material preform 3 to a certain extent, prevent the preform from shifting during the flow of the molding medium, and ensure the position accuracy of the composite material preform 3 in the cavity 9.

[0037] When the molding aid medium is under pressure, it continuously and evenly impregnates the composite material preform 3, so that it is completely impregnated with the resin, and then the molding aid medium is cured, so that the composite material preform 3 and the molding aid medium are firmly combined to form a composite material with a specific shape and performance. After the composite material is formed, the upper mold 1, the middle mold frame 4 and the lower mold 2 are opened in sequence, and the formed composite material product is taken out from the cavity 9.

[0038] It can be seen that under the joint action of the first seal 5, the second seal 6 and the third seal 7, multi-dimensional sealing is achieved, which helps to ensure the sealing of the cavity 9 and can jointly play a role in suppressing the leakage of the molding medium from different interfaces during the transfer process, so that the composite material preform 3 can be fully infiltrated in the molding medium, thereby improving the mechanical properties of the prepared composite material, thereby fundamentally solving the edge effect problem and providing a guarantee for the preform infiltration performance test method.

[0039] In an alternative approach, Figures 1 to 5 As shown, each second seal 6 in the embodiment of the present application is spaced apart along the radial direction of the middle mold frame 4, and the material of the second seal 6 in the embodiment of the present application includes at least one of butyl sealant, plasticine, dough and clay, which has greater plasticity and adhesion properties and can be cleaned and removed later. During the mold closing process, the upper mold 1 will approach the direction where the lower mold 2 and the middle mold frame 4 are located, and the second seal 6 made of the above material will gradually deform under the action of pressure, and the space between the two adjacent second seals 6 can be used for its extension and deformation, ensuring that the second seal 6 can better fit on the contact surface, which is conducive to maintaining a good sealing state. At the same time, the spaced arrangement of the second seal 6 can also intercept the auxiliary molding medium multiple times to fully ensure the blocking of the auxiliary molding medium, improve the sealing performance and reliability of the device in the resin transfer molding process, and further suppress the occurrence of edge effects. If the spacing of the second seals 6 is too close, there will be no space for them to fully extend, which will cause the second seals 6 to stack along the radial direction of the middle mold frame 4, resulting in the upper mold 1 and the lower mold 2 being unable to close tightly. At the same time, the second seal 6 of clay nature is used to seal the gap between the upper mold 1 and the lower mold 2, and its adhesion and deformability are used to ensure a good sealing effect without affecting the mold closing accuracy of the upper mold 1 and the lower mold 2, thereby ensuring the size of the cavity 9. It should be understood that the material of the second seal 6 in the embodiment of the present application can also be other seals with clay properties, which can be adjusted according to actual conditions and are not limited here.

[0040] In an alternative approach, Figures 1 to 5As shown, each third seal 7 in the embodiment of the present application includes two first seal segments 701 and a second seal segment 702 perpendicular to the two first seal segments 701, the inner side wall of each first seal segment 701 is connected to the surface of the composite material preform 3, and the inner side wall of the second seal segment 702 is connected to the end of the composite material preform 3 facing the middle mold frame 4. In other words, the angle between the first seal segment 701 and the second seal segment 702 of the third seal 7 is a right angle, which reduces the probability of the phenomenon of generating a gap or channel for the flow of the molding medium due to the obtuse angle. In addition, in the two first seal segments 701 arranged opposite to each other, the distance between the upper surface of the first seal segment 701 close to the core 101 and the lower surface of the first seal segment 701 away from the core 101 should be greater than the radial dimension of the cavity 9, so that the edge of the composite material preform 3 can be fully blocked in the thickness direction of the composite material preform 3. It should be understood that the upper surface of the first sealing segment 701 close to the core 101 refers to the side of the first sealing segment 701 facing the core 101; the lower surface of the first sealing segment 701 away from the core 101 refers to the side of the first sealing segment 701 away from the core 101.

[0041] For example, the Shore hardness of the third seal in the embodiment of the present application is lower than 50. The material of the third seal includes at least one of silicone rubber, EPDM rubber and nitrile rubber. The reason is that during the mold closing operation, if the Shore hardness of the third seal is not less than 50, a large reaction force will be generated during the mold closing process, increasing the difficulty of mold closing. In addition, after the mold closing is completed in the later stage, part of the second seal will be squeezed to the surface where the third seal is located. At this time, the third seal can accommodate the second seal by its own deformation.

[0042] Usually, the edge of the composite material preform is not a neatly cut hard edge, but there is a phenomenon of fiber disentanglement, showing a disordered and uneven state. After installing the third seal, the tightness of the edge of the composite material preform along the thickness direction can indeed be improved to a certain extent. However, relying solely on the third seal cannot eliminate the gap between the edge of the composite material preform and the inner side wall of the second sealing section along the in-plane direction.

[0043] In an alternative approach, Figures 1 to 5 As shown, the molding device in the embodiment of the present application further includes a foaming material 10, which is arranged between the inner side wall of the second sealing section 702 and the end of the composite material preform 3 facing the middle mold frame 4. This foaming material 10 can fully fill the irregular gaps at the end of the composite material preform 3 wrapped by the second sealing section 702. At the same time, the squeezing effect of the third sealing member 7 on the end of the composite material preform 3 can prevent the foaming material 10 from over-expanding, thereby avoiding deformation of the composite material preform 3 due to excessive volume.

[0044] The present application also provides a composite material molding method, which can suppress the edge effect to the greatest extent and is applied to the composite material molding device mentioned above. Figure 6 FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a method for forming a composite material according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 As shown, the molding method includes:

[0045] Step 1: Arrange each third sealing member at the end of the composite material preform.

[0046] Exemplarily, the step further includes: arranging a material to be foamed between the third sealing member and the end of the composite material preform. The material to be foamed is solid at room temperature, and the foaming ratio of the material to be foamed is less than 100. Specifically, the material may include at least one of polyurethane, epoxy resin and phenolic resin. In the subsequent foaming process, the pressure generated by the material can be effectively controlled, and the composite material preform will not be deformed, thereby ensuring the structural stability and integrity of the composite material preform.

[0047] For example, a composite material with a length and width of 300 mm and a thickness of 4 mm is formed by RTM molding process. Figure 7 FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of the third sealing member in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, a third sealing member made of silicone rubber needs to be prepared. The angle between the first sealing segment 701 and the second sealing segment 702 in the third sealing member is a right angle, and in the two first sealing segments 701 arranged opposite to each other, the spacing d1 between the upper surface of the first sealing segment 701 close to the core and the lower surface of the first sealing segment 701 away from the core is 6 mm, the length d2 of each first sealing segment 701 is 8 mm, the Shore hardness is 20 degrees, and the spacing d3 of each first sealing segment 701 is 3.5 mm. Then, a foam strip to be foamed is attached to the inner side wall of the second sealing segment of the third sealing member. The main component of this foam strip is epoxy resin, the foaming ratio is 10, and its height is the same as the spacing d3 of each first sealing segment 701, both of which are 3.5 mm. Finally, each third sealing member is arranged at the end of the composite material preform, wherein the epoxy resin foam strip is located between the third sealing member and the end of the composite material preform.

[0048] Step 2: a second seal is arranged on one side of each middle mold frame provided with the first seal facing the upper mold, the core and the lower mold, and each second seal is spaced apart and distributed along the radial direction of the middle mold frame.

[0049] For example, the first sealing member in the embodiment of the present application is a rubber ring, which is arranged in the groove of the middle mold frame. Then, a butyl sealing strip is prepared, which is kneaded into a thin strip with a diameter of 3 mm and arranged on the side of each middle mold frame with a rubber ring facing the upper mold, the core and the lower mold, and a butyl sealing strip is attached every 60 mm along the radial direction of the middle mold frame. It can be understood that the butyl sealing strips spaced apart along the radial direction of the middle mold frame are located on both sides of the opening for resin outflow and the opening for resin inflow, that is, the position where the edge effect is pre-generated.

[0050] Step three: connecting the composite material preform provided with the third sealing member to the middle mold frame, and connecting each first sealing member to each third sealing member through each second sealing member.

[0051] Exemplarily, a composite material preform provided with a third sealing member made of silicone rubber is connected to a middle mold frame, and each rubber ring is connected to each third sealing member made of silicone rubber through each butyl sealing strip. Finally, all the attached butyl sealing strips are pressed to make them fit tightly against the surface of the middle mold frame and pressed into a flat shape.

[0052] Step 4: Fix the middle mold frame on the surface of the lower mold, so that the composite material preform provided with the third sealing member is located in the mold cavity, and move the upper mold toward the lower mold until the upper mold and the lower mold are tightly connected.

[0053] Illustratively, after the upper mold and the lower mold are tightly connected, the butyl sealing strip will seal the side of the middle mold frame facing the upper mold, the core and the lower mold, thereby preventing the edge effect of rapid resin flow in the gap between the middle mold frame and the upper mold, the core and the lower mold; in addition, the butyl sealing strip has the characteristics of clay and has great deformability. After the upper mold and the lower mold are tightly connected, the sealing strip can be pressed into a thin film and sandwiched in the middle of the gap, which will not affect the tightness of the mold.

[0054] Based on this, the third seal made of silicone rubber connects the butyl sealing strip, the epoxy resin foam strip to be foamed and the rubber ring of the mold into a whole, which jointly play a sealing role. The whole connection makes the resin impeccable and suppresses the edge effect to the greatest extent.

[0055] Step 5: Inject the molding aid medium into the cavity from the opening, and obtain the composite material after curing.

[0056] For example, the mold after being tightly closed is heated to a temperature of 120°C for 2 hours to foam the epoxy resin foam strip to be foamed. After the epoxy resin foam strip is foamed, it will fill the gap between the inner side wall of the second sealing section of the third sealing member made of silicone rubber and the composite material preform to prevent the edge effect of rapid resin flow at the edge of the composite material preform. Next, a resin with a viscosity of 50mPa·s is injected into the cavity from the opening, and a composite material is obtained after curing, and the third sealing member made of silicone rubber contained in the composite material is cut off.

[0057] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application. Obviously, various modifications and combinations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are only exemplary illustrations of the present application as defined by the attached claims, and are deemed to have covered any and all modifications, changes, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include these changes and variations. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

[0058] It should also be noted that in the device and method of the present application, each component or each step can be decomposed and / or recombined. Such decomposition and / or recombination should be regarded as equivalent solutions of the present application.

[0059] The above description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present application. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects without departing from the scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but rather to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0060] The above description has been given for the purpose of illustration and description. In addition, this description is not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application to the forms disclosed herein. Although several example aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those skilled in the art will recognize certain variations, modifications, changes, additions and sub-combinations thereof.

Claims

1. A composite material molding device for use in a resin transfer molding process, characterized in that: include: An upper mold, a lower mold, a composite material preform, a middle mold frame, a plurality of first seals, a plurality of second seals and a plurality of third seals; the side walls of the upper mold and / or the lower mold are provided with openings for the inflow and / or outflow of a molding medium, the upper mold is connected to the lower mold through the middle mold frame, a cavity is provided between the upper mold and the lower mold, the opening is communicated with the cavity, the middle mold frame is provided with a plurality of grooves, each first seal is provided in each of the grooves for sealing the cavity, a core is provided at a portion of the upper mold facing the cavity, a second seal is provided on one side of the middle mold frame facing the upper mold, the core and the lower mold, the composite material preform is located in the cavity, the third seal is provided on the composite material preform, each middle mold frame is connected to the composite material preform through each third seal, and each first seal is connected to each third seal through each second seal.

2. The composite material forming device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the second sealing members is spaced apart and distributed along the radial direction of the middle mold frame.

3. The composite material forming device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material of the second sealing member includes at least one of butyl sealant, plasticine, dough and clay.

4. The composite material forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: Each of the third sealing members includes two first sealing segments and a second sealing segment perpendicular to the two first sealing segments, the inner side wall of each of the first sealing segments is connected to the surface of the composite material preform, and the inner side wall of the second sealing segment is connected to the end of the composite material preform facing the middle mold frame.

5. The composite material forming device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The third sealing member has a Shore hardness lower than 50.

6. The composite material forming device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The molding device further comprises a foaming material, and the foaming material is arranged between the inner side wall of the second sealing section and the end of the composite material preform facing the middle mold frame.

7. A method for forming a composite material, characterized in that: A molding device for a composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising: Step 1, arranging each third sealing member at an end of the composite material preform; Step 2: a second seal is provided on a side of each middle mold frame provided with the first seal facing the upper mold, the core and the lower mold, and each of the second seals is distributed at intervals along the radial direction of the middle mold frame; Step three, connecting the composite material preform provided with the third sealing member to the middle mold frame, and connecting each of the first sealing members to each of the third sealing members through each of the second sealing members; Step 4, fixing the middle mold frame on the surface of the lower mold, so that the composite material preform provided with the third sealing member is located in the mold cavity, and moving the upper mold toward the direction close to the lower mold until the upper mold and the lower mold are tightly connected; Step five, injecting a molding aid medium into the mold cavity from the opening, and obtaining a composite material after solidification.

8. The method for forming a composite material according to claim 7, characterized in that: The step one further comprises: placing the material to be foamed between the third sealing member and the end of the composite material preform.

9. The method for forming a composite material according to claim 8, characterized in that: The step four also includes: heating the combined upper mold and the lower mold.

10. The method for forming a composite material according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: The material to be foamed is solid at room temperature, and the foaming ratio of the material to be foamed is less than 100.

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