Polymer Composites Manufacturing

The course explores in depth the manufacturing of polymer composite structures and its underlying physics. By understanding the relationships among physics, part/material quality and the design of the manufacturing process, you will be able to critically assess any given manufacturing process. The course is built around a number of polymer composite manufacturing processes highly relevant to the current and future aerospace industry for the manufacturing of high-performance individual parts (autoclave processing of prepreg, liquid composite moulding, thermoplastic composite processing), for the assembling of complex structures (manufacturing of integrated structures, thermoplastic composite welding) and for end of life and recycling. The main basic physical phenomena governing polymer composites manufacturing, e.g. flow (of polymer and of fibres), void formation, curing, shrinkage and crystallization, are interwoven within the course.