Abstract
This research presents the experimental characterization and modeling of three-dimensional unsteady-state temperature and degree of cure distributions for the pultrusion manufacturing of fiberglass-epoxy I-beam composites. The model is capable of predicting temperature and degree of cure distributions for composites with Cartesian shapes in three dimensions and temperature profiles in pultrusion dies without the aid of predetermined temperature values used as die wall boundary conditions. The numerical model is compared with experimentally measured temperatures and degrees of cure recorded during the actual pultrusion manufacturing of the fiberglass-epoxy I-beams. Using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), the die composite exit degree of cure was also obtained. The finite volume method was utilized in the development of the numerical model for solving the governing energy and species equations used in modeling the entire heating section of the pultruder. The combinations of pull speed, fiber volume, and die temperature profiles can be modeled very economically to simulate pultrusion manufacturing of composites. Since this research is not limited in terms of predetermined temperature values, it can be tailored easily to predict a multitude of temperature profiles suited for a pultrusion process. This research is also important because it provides realistic modeling of irregular cross-sectional geometries.
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