Low Pressure Assisted Composite Molding

An important evolution of NASArsquo;s mission is underway where it acts to support the commercial space industry. An aspect of that evolution into a commercial space industry is to add smaller launch vehicles to the inventory while working on reducing acquisition costs whenever possible. Cornerstone Research Group, Inc. (CRG) proposes to deliver greater affordability and performance for medium to large composite structures for small launch vehicles using low pressure assisted composite molding. The major benefits are derived from the use of lower cost materials associated with liquid molding, while adding a small back pressure during cure using less intensive infrastructure. The use of unique low pressure methods for curing prepreg composites has been demonstrated by others.nbsp; The use of low pressure processing with liquid molding is a logical extension of the technology. The resulting proposed process, while taking advantage of the cost benefits of traditional liquid molding, also leads to higher fiber volume and the potential of more integrated structures, which in turn leads to higher performance similar to autoclave cured composites while reducing the capital costs associated with an autoclave. Processing in this manner will maintain compatibility with existing qualified resins and reinforcements, and enable more mass-efficient composite structures.