Abstract
The prediction and estimation of residual stress in the fabrication of hybrid composites is one of the most important issues relating to these materials. The dimensional changes in three carbon woven fabric/phenolic composites were estimated using embedded sensors during cure. The contributions of the cure shrinkage and thermal contraction to the dimensional changes were separately assessed. The out-of-plane deformation of three asymmetric interply hybrid composites was predicted using FEM analysis based on the curing monitoring results, and it was also estimated experimentally using a 3-D scanning system. In the exceptional case that two constituents of an asymmetric hybrid composite had similar shrinkage, the experimental and numerical results exhibited quite a large difference, although they agreed well for general cases.