Uniting Composite Manufacturing Theory and Application: Practical Manufacturing Methods in a Team-Based Curriculum

Abstract

Four solid carbon fiber composite propeller blades were manufactured through unique processes as the final project in the AAE 590/MSE 597 Manufacturing of Advanced Composites course taught by Prof. R. Byron Pipes during the Fall 2015 semester at Purdue University. The first portion of the course focused on laboratory experiments, exploring topics such as cure kinetics of thermoset polymers, heat transfer during cure, fiber bed permeability, and consolidation. The second portion of the course concentrated on a manufacturing project culminating in the production of small propeller blades. Four groups of three students each were formed, with each group selecting a composites manufacturing method: an autoclave process, an oven cure process, a Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) process, and a discontinuous chopped pre-impregnated composite fiber compression molding process. To utilize concepts previously learned in class and to demonstrate the complexities within each manufacturing method, the overall objective of the final project was to create a part with a complex three-dimensional geometry through four mutually exclusive methods. Students decided upon a common propeller blade geometry, after which each team was required to conduct their own analyses using the tools previously learned in class to produce a functional part according to their assigned process. All teams successfully created their respective parts with final dimensions within approximately 1.5 mm of the design value. This exercise demonstrated the difficulty in taking conceptual composite designs and translating these to finished products by going through the entire engineering and manufacturing processes.