Aytoclawe Tooling for Thermoplastic/Graphite Composites

Assuming that large high temperature resistant composites will primarily be cured in autoclaves, an immediate requirement for suitable autoclave tooling exists. The Wichita State University - Institute for Aviation Research (WSU-IAR) is conducting high temperature tooling studies. The approach is to build tooling from a polymer/graphite composite which will correlate with the thermal expansions of the composite being molded. Detailed information is shared on the development of master models, intermediary models and other sequential tooling steps. Finally, the paper shares the molding results with advanced thermoplastic composites.