Compression molding of composites: Mold heating system design

✍ Scribed by R. K. Upadhyay

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1988
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 892 KB
• Volume: 8
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0730-6679
• DOI: 10.1002/adv.1988.060080303

✦ Synopsis

In compression molding of composite parts, it is important to minimize the temperature variation in the part during processing for consistent quality. A mold heating analysis and optimization scheme has been developed that &ws computation of temperature variation on the moldlpad surJkce, and optimizes the location and power of heaters. The heat transfer coe&&vtts for a given mold can also be theoretically calculated. The validation of the anal- ysis was carried out by two sets of experiments: the ABSTRACT first one measured the heat loss from the mold under different boundary conditions, and the second one the temperature variation on moldlpart boundary for theoretically determined power histories for a spec-@ed temperature history. The experimental data compared well with theory andprovide a satisfactory validation of the analysis. The present work provides a useful tool to a design engineer and allows the mold heating system design on a scientijic basis, thus eliminating the aial and error approach.