Shape Distortion of Carbon/Epoxy Composite Parts During Fabrication

Summary The accurate modelling of residual stress in thermoset composites requires comprehensive consideration of all the phenomena contributing to its formation. These include: chemical shrinkage of matrix due to cross linking of molecules, mismatch of thermal expansion or contraction among fibres and matrix and viscoelastic relaxation during the fabrication. Thermo‐physical and thermo‐mechanical properties are altered during the curing process due to an exothermic chemical reaction. Since all the phenomena causing residual stress are strongly coupled, the solution procedure is a complex task. In this study, spring‐in angle of carbon/epoxy woven composite bracket with three different thicknesses are calculated by simultaneously solving the thermo‐kinetics and thermo‐mechanics coupling by a finite element code COMSOL Multiphysics. Properties of composites required for numerical simulation are obtained using an analytical method. The spring‐in angle values obtained by numerical simulation are also compared with the results of the analytical model.