JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #57 - May 2010 - 34

FEATURE

“Automation”

Control
During normal production, the sensor did not receive any special treatment from the operator and did not present any problem related to the presence of carbon fibres in the mould cavity. Based on the experts’ knowledge and experience, it was possible to raise mould temperature by 20°C without any problem, but with obvious advantages. The real-time validation of the resin state in the mould during processing was supported and confirmed by the use of this monitoring system. In another RTM industrial application, a 36% faster cycle time (Fig. 5) was achieved [7].

g…/… Automatic process monitoring and control for composite production study as it is more general and can be applied directly. One of the main control variables that can be used during the process is the thermal cycle, i.e. the temperature profile that can be extended, shortened or increased to maximum temperatures. Besides the productivity increase, the main advantages of the iREMO project are energy reduction and scrap reduction. Furthermore, a new type of sensor (Synthesites’ Inline sensor) will be used to further enhance environmental protection by controlling and eliminating resin purging and acetone cleaning after each production cycle.

Conclusions Industrial applications
To check the performance of the process monitoring and control systems in industrial applications, the system was installed in a fast RTM production system for epoxy/glass/carbon-fibre body panels that has been operating for ten years at a Sora Composites production site in France. In this set-up, the resin is injected through a periphery feed line at one end of the cavity and exits from the middle of the cavity under constant flow, so injection pressure reaches up to 20 bar. For process monitoring, a single durable sensor was installed at the periphery of the cavity (Fig. 4) to measure the resin’s electrical resistance and temperature. Real-time monitoring of production can provide the foundation for process automation in a variety of composite processes. The advantages and robustness of the system ware proved in practice, and its results helped to improve the production performance at first hand. The aim of the iREMO project is to use this foundation to provide composite manufacturers with intelligent tools and systems that can improve production without the burden of extended and expensive analytical investigations. More information: www.iremo.eu Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank the EC for supporting the iREMO project (NMP2-SL-2009-228662) under the FP7 programme and Sora Composites Group and Technika Plastika SA for publication clearance. References 1.Pantelelis, Nikos, Maistros, George: “Process monitoring for liquid composite moulding using durable sensors”, Proceedings of the 27th Risoe International Symposium on Materials Science, (Eds Lilhold, L. et al.), 279- 285, Risoe, (DK). (2006) 2.Pantelelis, Nikos, Maistros, George and Hakme, Chady: “Process monitoring of thermoplastic reactive composite moulding using durable sensors”, SAMPE ’07, Baltimore, USA 3. Pantelelis, Nikos: “Towards the dynamic optimization for the cure control of thermoset-matrix composite materials”, Compos Sci Technol. 65 (2005): 1254-1263 4. Tajima, Yuji: “Monitoring cure viscosity of epoxy composites”, Polymer Composites 3 (1982): 162 5. Schwab, Scott, Levy, Ram, Glover, Gregg: “Sensor system for monitoring impregnation and cure during resin transfer molding”, Polymer Composites 17 (1996): 312 6. Koike, Tsuneo: “Relationship between Melt Viscosity and Dielectric Relaxation Time for a Series of Epoxide Oligomers”, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 47 (1993): 387-394 7. Pantelelis, Nikos and Bistekos, Efthymis: “Process monitoring and control for the production of CFRP components”, to be presented at SAMPE Conference, Seattle, 2010

Fig. 4: Flashmounted sensor at the periphery of the cavity

Fig. 5: Curing times for an RTM production line before and after cure monitoring and control – mean cure cycle time is 36% faster

jec composites magazine / No57 May 2010

http://www.iremo.eu

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #57 - May 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #57 - May 2010