Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
of.speciic.pressure.increased.water.penetration.between.layers.and.reduced.
physical.and.mechanical.properties.
The.Quickstep.proprietary.manufacturing.process.is.a.range.of.technolo-
gies.that.can.be.used.in.out-of-autoclave.fabrication.of.composite.components.
from. advanced. composite. materials.. They. were. developed. and. patented.
by. the. Australian's. Quickstep. Technologies. Pty.. Ltd.,. with. the. assistance.
of. the. Commonwealth. Scientiic. and. Industrial. Research. Organization,. an.
Australian.public.sector.R&D.organization..The.balanced-pressure,.heated-
mold. process. promises. reduced. cure. cycle. times. and. product. weight. as.
well. as. increased. strength. and. improved. appearance.. Products. produced.
via. the. Quickstep. process. have. superior. properties. to. products. fabricated.
by.conventional.atmospheric.cure.techniques.and.have.properties.generally.
equal.to.or.better.than.high-pressure.autoclave.techniques..The.process.cycle.
times.are.typically.30.to.60.minutes.for.most.resin.systems,.a.signiicant.time.
savings.over.the.3.to.8.hours.required.in.autoclave.curing.processes,.while.
achieving.aerospace-grade.void.contents.of.less.than.2.percent. 21 .Signiicant.
scrap.rate.reduction.also.can.be.expected,.which.is.otherwise.incurred.from.
interrupted.cure.cycles,.as.well.as.reduced.capital,.tooling,.and.lower.oper-
ating. costs.with. energy. usage. 70. to. 90. percent. less. than. for. the. equivalent.
autoclave.process.
The.technology.allows.large.composite.parts.to.be.fabricated.to.aerospace.
standards.together.with.the.added.lexibility.to.co-cure.or.meld.components.
to.produce.more.structurally.integrated.complex.parts. 12
The. Quickstep. process. uses. a. lightweight. clamshell-like. mold. equipped.
with. one. or. more. lexible. silicone. bladders. on. each. mold. side. that. rapidly.
applies.heat.to.the.enclosed.uncured.laminate.stack. 20 .The.Ingersoll.machine.
used.automated.iber.placement.and.wound.a.fuselage.for.Boeing. 22
The.lexible.bladders,.which.permit.the.laminate.to.be.compressed.with-
out.subjecting.the.mold.to.distortion.or.stress,.have.the.ability.to.be.rapidly.
looded.with.heat.transfer.luid.(HTF).so.that.the.mold.surface.can.be.heated.
or.cooled.far.more.quickly.than.is.possible.with.liquid.piped.inside.solid.tool-
ing..Three.separate.tanks.are.used.to.contain.glycol.HTF.maintained.at.three.
temperatures. from. cold. (room. temperature). to. hot. (up. to. 400°F).. Vibrating.
HTF.applied.at.constant.low.pressure.(1.psi.to.4.psi).against.the.tool,.together.
with.vacuum.in.the.tooling.itself,.remove.air.as.the.part.is.compacted.and.
cured..Three.molding.cells.(QS1,.QS5,.QS20).are.available.that.can.cure.sur-
faces.of.1.to.20.m 2 ..The.process.can.accommodate.thermoset.or.thermoplas-
tic.prepregs.as.well.as.wet.resin/dry.iber.composite.systems..Though.best.
suited. to. parts. having. moderate. curvature,. such. as. airfoil-shaped. compo-
nents,.more.complex.bladders.can.be.used.to.mold.deeper.draw.parts..The.
largest.cell,.which.can.be.moved.by.forklift,.its.into.a.40-ft.container.and.can.
be.installed.in.one.day.
Building.on.its.previous.collaboration,.Quickstep.and.the.Victorian.Centre.
for. Advanced. Materials. Manufacturing. (Belmont,. Australia). have. initiated.
a.major.new.R&D.program.in.2011..The.program.focuses.on.composites.for.
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