Cure Kinetic Modelling and Experimental Analysis to Predict Temperature Distribution during Microwave Curing of Carbon Fiber Composites

In this work, a numerical model was developed to investigate the layer wise temperature distribution during microwave curing to manufacture carbon fiber composites using COMSOL Multiphysics^® software package. A multivariable nonlinear regression analysis was conducted to acquire the cure kinetics parameters based on the heating rate. The resulting model demonstrated temperature and percentage degree of cure prediction accuracy within an error margin of 6% and 0.62%, respectively. In addition, a comparison was made between the contour of temperature distribution across different layers. The correlation with experimental and simulation data revealed that uniform heating occurred at 180 W due to a longer cycle time compared to power levels of 360 W, 540 W, and 720 W, in the presence of a standing wave. Conversely, the model indicated a temperature gradient of approximately 8.7 ℃, 10.2 ℃, 24.6 ℃, and 36.6 ℃ between the first and last layer for power levels of 180 W, 360 W, 540 W, and 720 W, respectively. Utilizing a dwell period of 65 s at a temperature of 100 ℃, the gradient between the first and last layer reduced to approximately 5.21 ℃, 7.97 ℃, 8.91 ℃, and 9.04 ℃ for power levels of 180 W, 360 W, 540 W, and 720 W, respectively, at the end of the curing process. Furthermore, a comparative examination of temperature distribution and degree of cure at 180 W revealed a higher degree of cure in regions where the temperature was elevated due to the standing wave.

Graphical Abstract