Design optimization of filament wound cylinder by considering process induced residual stresses

The manufacturing process has a significant influence on the product quality of filament wound composite parts. During the filament winding process, a large tensile load to the fibre was applied and maintained during resin curing, resulting in residual stress. This residual stress gradually relaxes due to the fibres’ slippage, the matrix’s crosslinking, and different coefficients of thermal expansion between composite parts and mandrels. As a result, increasing the number of layers becomes more problematic. In this work, a multiphysics analysis has been carried out to study the effect of the viscoelastic behaviour of the material on the rise of residual stress on thick cylinders. The multiphysics model was developed in COMSOL to predict the temperature distribution and the degree of polymerization during the consolidation process. The optimal cure profile was identified as a function of process parameters to minimize the thermal gradient within the composite element.