Method and apparatus for consolidating a laminated resin prepreg assembly for manufacturing an article of composite material.

摘要

P An apparatus (10) for controlling the consolidation of a laminated resin prepreg assembly (22) includes a temperature probe (30) placed in a predetermined position in the prepreg (22) and a control computer (34 ) which receives temperature signals from the probe (30). The computer (34) sends signals to adjust the temperature applied to the prepreg (22) by a heater (18). The computer (34) measures the response time of the system. The computer (34) has mathematical models of the behavior of critical process variables as a function of time, etc., and control rules. The computer (34) uses critical process variables and temperature measurements to determine the current state of the prepreg every 6 seconds. Every minute, the computer (34) uses the current state of the prepreg and the control rules to predict the future state of the prepreg after a time equal to the system response time, which is 5 to 10 minutes, for different speeds of temperature increase, and chooses the highest speed of temperature increase that does not violate the rules, and sends signals to the heater (18) so that it applies this speed of temperature increase during the next period of time equal to 1 minute. /P