In the composite industry, wet lay-up and vacuum bagging are widely used, low-cost manufacturing processes. This paper investigates the mechanical performance of wet layup and vacuum bagged carbon fibre-reinforced laminates compressed in a hydraulic press at different compaction pressures. The external compaction pressure is shown to significantly reduce void content, and increase the fibre volume fraction and mechanical performance of tested laminates. The tensile and flexural properties of tested specimens subjected to high levels of external compaction pressure are found to be comparable to those of out-of-autoclave (OOA) prepreg specimens. It is summised that the use of external compaction pressure over wet layup and vacuum bagged composites offers a low-cost (and low-energy) industrial processing route for manufacturing high-performance carbon fibre-reinforced components.
BarileCCasavolaCDe CillisF.Mechanical comparison of new composite materials for aerospace applications. Compos Part B: Eng. 2019; 162:122–128.
2.
RanaSFangueiroR.Advanced composite materials for aerospace engineering: processing, properties and applications. Cambridge, MA: Woodhead Publishing; 2016.
3.
LinganisoLAnandjiwalaR. Fibre-reinforced laminates in aerospace engineering. Advanced composite materials for aerospace engineering. Elsevier; 2016. p. 101–127.
4.
RenPZhouJTianA, et al. Experimental investigation on dynamic failure of carbon/epoxy laminates under underwater impulsive loading. Mar Struct. 2018; 59:285–300.
5.
Garcia-EspinelJCastro-FresnoDGayoPP, et al. Effects of sea water environment on glass fiber reinforced plastic materials used for marine civil engineering constructions. Mater Des (1980–2015). 2015; 66:46–50.
6.
SutherlandLSoaresCG.Impact behaviour of typical marine composite laminates. Compos Part B: Eng. 2005; 37(2–3):89–100.
7.
ZimmermannRRolfesR.Posicoss–improved postbuckling simulation for design of fibre composite stiffened fuselage structures. Compos Struct. 2006; 73(2):171–174.
8.
AwerbuchJLeoneFAJrOzevinD, et al. On the applicability of acoustic emission to identify modes of damage in full-scale composite fuselage structures. J Compos Mater. 2016; 50(4):447–469.
9.
MachadoJGamarraPRMarquesE.Improvement in impact strength of composite joints for the automotive industry. Compos Part B: Eng. 2018; 138:243–255.
10.
UsamentiagaRIbarra-CastanedoCKleinM, et al. Nondestructive evaluation of carbon fiber bicycle frames using infrared thermography. Sensors. 2017; 17(11):2679.
11.
SiddiqueeSHongMGJRahmanMM.Composite materials: applications in engineering, biomedicine and food science. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature; 2020.
12.
ChungDD. Introduction to carbon composites. Carbon composites: composites with carbon fibers, nanofibers, and nanotubes. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science; 2017.p. 88–160.
13.
ChenFXiaoHPengZQ, et al. Thermally conductive glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites with intrinsic self-healing capability. Adv Compos Hybrid Mater. 2021; 4(4):1048–1058.
14.
WuZLiLGuoN, et al. Effect of a vinyl ester-carbon nanotubes sizing agent on interfacial properties of carbon fibers reinforced unsaturated polyester composites. ES Mater Manuf. 2019; 6(4):38–48.
15.
NasserJLinJSteinkeK, et al. Enhanced interfacial strength of aramid fiber reinforced composites through adsorbed aramid nanofiber coatings. Compos Sci Technol. 2019; 174:125–133.
16.
NaikVKumarM.A review on natural fiber composite material in automotive applications. Eng Sci. 2021; 18:1–10.
17.
MoudoodARahmanAKhanlouHM, et al. Environmental effects on the durability and the mechanical performance of flax fiber/bio-epoxy composites. Compos Part B: Eng. 2019; 171:284–293.
18.
ShivakumarKNSwaminathanGSharpeM.Carbon/vinyl ester composites for enhanced performance in marine applications. J Reinf Plast Compos. 2006; 25(10):1101–1116.
19.
GuHZhangHMaC, et al. Trace electrosprayed nanopolystyrene facilitated dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes: simultaneously strengthening and toughening epoxy. Carbon. 2019; 142:131–140.
20.
HallWJavanbakhtZ.Design and manufacture of fibre-reinforced composites. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing; 2021.
21.
StringerL.Optimization of the wet lay-up/vacuum bag process for the fabrication of carbon fibre epoxy composites with high fibre fraction and low void content. Composites. 1989; 20(5):441–452.
22.
SussmannMAmirkhosraviMPishvarM, et al. Fabrication of high quality, large wet lay-up/vacuum bag laminates by sliding a magnetic tool. Polymers. 2018; 10(9):992.
23.
FlowerHM.High performance materials in aerospace. Netherlands: Springer Science & Business Media; 2012.
24.
CenteaTGrunenfelderLKNuttSR.A review of out-of-autoclave prepregs–material properties, process phenomena, and manufacturing considerations. Compos Part A: Appl Sci Manuf. 2015; 70:132–154.
25.
HuWNuttSGillM. In-situ monitoring of air removal during vacuum bag-only (vbo) processing. 21st Int. Conf. Compos. Mater; 2017. p. 1–9.
26.
ParkSJSeoMK.Interface science and composites. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Academic Press; 2011.
MeredithJBilsonEPoweR, et al. A performance versus cost analysis of prepreg carbon fibre epoxy energy absorption structures. Compos Struct. 2015; 124:206–213.
29.
SummerscalesJ. Taking the high energy demand out of autoclave processing of composites. [...]; 2018. SAMPE Europe 2018, Southampton, 2018 September 11–13, oral presentation. ISBN 978-90-821727-9-9, Accessed: 2021-02-16.
FrancucciGPalmerSHallW.External compaction pressure over vacuum-bagged composite parts: effect on the quality of flax fiber/epoxy laminates. J Compos Mater. 2018; 52(1):3–15.
ASTM-International. Standard test method for tensile properties of polymer matrix composite materials. West Conshohocken: ASTM International; 2017. Standard.
39.
ASTM-International. Standard test methods for flexural properties of unreinforced and reinforced plastics and electrical insulating materials. West Conshohocken: ASTM International; 2017. Standard.
CallisterWDRethwischDGBlicblauA, et al. Materials science and engineering: an introduction. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley; 2021.
42.
HeHGaoF.Effect of fiber volume fraction on the flexural properties of unidirectional carbon fiber/epoxy composites. Int J Polym Anal Charact. 2015; 20(2):180–189.
43.
PotterKD.The early history of the resin transfer moulding process for aerospace applications. Compos Part A: Appl Sci Manuf. 1999; 30(5):619–621.
44.
LundströmTS.Measurement of void collapse during resin transfer moulding. Compos Part A: Appl Sci Manuf. 1997; 28(3):201–214.
45.
MaYUedaMYokozekiT, et al. A comparative study of the mechanical properties and failure behavior of carbon fiber/epoxy and carbon fiber/polyamide 6 unidirectional composites. Compos Struct. 2017; 160:89–99.
