A NOVEL COMPOSITION FOR REMOVABLE INTERNAL TOOLING OF HOLLOW COMPOSITE STRUCTURES

摘要

The importance of lightweight design in many industries is growing, leading to higher demands for fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) products. FRP components combine high mechanical properties with low mass. The bending stiffness of a component increases with increasing distance of the component surface to the neutral axis (i. e. with increasing thickness for monolithic structures). Different loads continue through the outer area and the inner area. Thus components are often manufactured from two different materials; a stiff material for the surface "skins" and a low density material for the inner core. Removing the inner material reduces the weight of the component at the same stiffness and results in a hollow component. The manufacturing process of hollow composite components can be distinguished as differential and integral design. In differential design, components are assembled from several pre-manufactured elements, whereas in integral design the component is produced in a single manufacturing process. The production of integral hollow metallic components is a well-known manufacturing process. The integral design promises lower assembly costs, less weight and structural advantages due to continuous load carrying fibers in the component. However, the complexity of the manufacturing process grows due to the need for additional tooling for the hollow space. These internal tools for FRP must be removable, to maximize the lightweight potential of the component.