High Quality Composite Fabrication without Autoclaves or Ovens

To fabricate high-quality composite components with acceptable thermal properties and low void volume, autoclaves are typically essential to provide elevated temperature processing cycles and external pressure required for adequate compaction. However, autoclaves represent large capital and energy investments while limiting the size of fabricated parts and production flexibility. Out-of-autoclave (OOA) fabrication technologies have not matured enough to consistently produce low-void content, high-quality parts. Advanced OOA methods are required to effectively apply heat and compact the resulting composites to meet the stringent mechanical specifications of structural aerospace components. Because large ovens have many of the same fabrication constraints as autoclaves, heating films/blankets have been employed for OOA applications. A potential improvement would be to use heating elements based on carbon nanotubes, such as those being developed by our partner at NC State University (NSCU). These systems will provide excellent temperature distribution across the composite while using less energy than conventional ovens/autoclaves. Engineers at Luna Innovations recently developed a simple composite fabrication technology which has demonstrated low-porosity composite fabrication using a single vacuum bag for compaction. Luna will combine our expertise along with novel nano-heating systems at NCSU to develop efficient, OOA technology for the fabrication and repair of aerospace-quality composites.