Optimising lamp positions in UV curing of composite components manufactured using RIDFT process

Abstract

A simple method for locating optimal positions for UV lamps used in the curing of curvilinear composite components manufactured with the resin infusion between double flexible tooling process is proposed. A multivariate optimisation model, consisting of continuously differentiable and two-dimensional integral domain parts, was developed. This model has UV lamp positions, dimensions of the manufactured composite component and UV power source as input parameters. The optimum positions of the UV lamps are the output. The two-dimensional integration yields the difference between the required and actual intensities that the composite component receives. A Gauss quadrature numerical integration method was used to numerically evaluate the surface integral, and the Davidon–Fletcher–Powell algorithm was used for predicting optimum positions for the lamps. The mechanical and rheological properties of the UV cured laminates were compared with catalytically cured laminates. Ultraviolet cured components compared well with the catalytic cured composites.