The use of carbon fiber reinforced composite materials (CFRP) in aerospace industries is consequently increasing due to their unique combination of characteristic features such as light weight, high specific mechanical strength etc. Currently the main obstacle for widespread industrial implementation is high manufacturing costs caused by the necessity of curing at elevated temperatures of 100-200 degree(s)C. Heating the CFRP materials to these temperatures in a conventional furnace is an energy consuming and therefore costly procedure. This paper presents a heating method by means of millimeter waves. Advantages of this method are presented along with theoretical considerations and numerical simulations of the heating process. The results of simulations of the anisotropic thermal and dielectrical material properties are shown and discussed on the basis of experiments.
The use of carbon fiber reinforced composite materials (CFRP) in aerospace industries is increasing due to their unique combination of characteristic features such as light weight, high specific firmness etc. For the time being, the main obstacle for widespread industrial applications are high manufacturing costs and one cause for them are the high curing temperatures between 100 and 200 degree(s)C. Heating the CFRP materials to these temperatures in a conventional furnace is an energy consuming and therefore costly procedure. This paper presents a heating procedure by the means of millimeter-waves. The advantages of this new method are presented along with theoretical considerations and numerical simulations of the heating process. The first experimental results in the form of millimeter-wave cured CFRP slabs are demonstrated.
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