Composite Curing Mold Using Resin Recirculation Pressure
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manufacturing turbomachine components with tight geometry tolerances using composite materials face challenges in maintaining mechanical performance and geometry precision due to resin loss during the manufacturing process, leading to increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A curing mold with an air gap and sliding pistons that utilize surplus resin to apply hydrostatic pressure to the preform, ensuring controlled temperature and pressure conditions for curing without additional resin consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a preform is cured in an autoclave under vacuum and pressure to achieve high mechanical performance, then the mechanical performance is improved, but the geometry tolerance cannot be maintained for tight tolerance components
Solution Approach 1:
The autoclave process is segmented into two distinct phases: first, curing the preform under vacuum without pressure to achieve geometry precision; second, applying pressure after curing to achieve high mechanical performance. This temporal segmentation allows both geometry tolerance and mechanical performance requirements to be satisfied sequentially.
2Manufacturing precision
If additional resin is used to apply hydrostatic pressure to the preform in the air gap, then the preform can be cured under controlled pressure conditions, but resin consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the preform's own resin, which is already present in the air gap, to apply hydrostatic pressure during curing. The resin is recirculated through channels in the mold bodies, eliminating the need for additional resin consumption while maintaining controlled pressure conditions throughout the curing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The resin that would normally be lost or wasted is recovered and recirculated through the channels in the mold bodies. This recovered resin is used to apply hydrostatic pressure to the preform, transforming what would be a loss into a useful resource that maintains pressure control during curing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution allows for the production of turbomachine components with high mechanical performance and tight geometry tolerances while minimizing resin waste and associated costs.
Implementation Method 1
a heating member designed to heat the preform in the air gap to a first temperature, so as to reduce the viscosity of the resin
Implementation Method 2
an injection member designed to inject fluid under pressure into the or each primary channel... so as to compress the resin that has entered the second chamber of said secondary channel from the preform into the air gap, so as to put the preform under hydrostatic pressure
Implementation Method 3
the heating member heats the preform to the second temperature, so as to cure the preform
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a curing mold (10) for manufacturing a turbomachine component made of composite material from a preform (200), comprising: —a first and a second body (11, 12) defining an air gap receiving the preform; —at least one primary channel (21) arranged in the first and/or the second body; —an injection member (22) of a pressurized fluid in the primary channels; —at least one secondary channel (23), in which a piston (24) slides, which delimits, on the one hand, a first chamber (26) in communication with the or a primary channel and, on the other hand, a second chamber (27) in communication with the air gap, and which is designed to compress thermosetting resin which has entered the second chamber from the preform in the air gap, so as to put the preform under hydrostatic pressure.