Properties of Composite Cylinders Fabricated by Bladder Assisted Composite Manufacturing

Abstract

An innovative manufacturing method, bladder assisted composite manufacturing (BACM), to fabricate geometrically complex, hollow parts made of polymeric composite materials is presented. Unlike the conventional bladder or diaphragm assisted curing processes, BACM uses an internally heated bladder to provide the consolidation pressure at the required cure temperature. The feasibility of this manufacturing method is demonstrated by fabricating laminated composite cylinders using multiple cure pressures and number of plies. The elastic moduli, failure strength, fiber volume fraction, and void contents of the cylinders were found to be comparable to the values obtained from flat laminates produced by hot plate molding of the same material. Compared to conventional bladder manufacturing methods, the BACM process reduced the energy required to cure the cylinders by almost 50% due to internal heating and insulated mold.