Research on molding method and thermal-dependent tension system based on heated-mandrel winding process

Heated-mandrel winding is a typical application of in situ curing process which realizes the integration of winding and curing process, which has been widely used in the molding process of composite materials. However, the new problems have been raised regarding the application of this process in engineering practice. There is a strong coupling relationship between the temperature and curing degree, and the coupling results will affect the distribution of stress field in the molding process. The original residual stress balance between the adjacent layers will be destroyed and the delamination, wrinkle, or fracture will occur in the molded shell. To solve this problem, this paper considers the impact of temperature-curing field changes on the thermal parameters during winding and the process of winding with tensioning is equivalent to the interference fit of thin layers. A linearized tension calculation model is established after summarizing the variation law of pre-stress with coupling field. The influence of the coupling field on stress balance is compensated by controlling and adjusting the winding tension to ensure that the radial deformation of each winding layer under pressure load is controllable. The results show that the numerical simulation results are in a good agreement with the experimental data.