Keywords
Citation
Advani, S.G. and Sozer, E.M. (2004), "Process Modeling in Composites Manufacturing", Assembly Automation, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 324-325. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.2004.24.3.324.2
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
“Process Modeling in Composites Manufacturing” addresses the basic principles behind polymer composites processing and its modelling required by students on industrial, mechanical and chemical engineering, and materials science courses.
The book comprises eight chapters with three main focal areas. Chapter 1 introduces polymer matrices for composites, fibres, classification and a general approach to modelling. Chapter 2 provides an Overview of Manufacturing Processes, and discusses topics including: classification based on dominant flow processes, short fibre suspension manufacturing methods, and advanced thermoplastic and thermoset composite manufacturing methods.
The following three chapters provide the tools required to model the processes, whereby Chapter 3 discusses Transport Equations for Composite Processing. Topics addressed include: the conservation of mass, momentum and energy; the stress‐strain rate relationship; and examples on use of conservation equations to solve viscous flow problems. Resin viscosity; viscosity of aligned fibre thermoplastic laminates; reaction and crystallisation kinetics; and permeability, are amongst the topics discussed in Chapter 4, Constitutive Laws and Their Characterization. Chapter 5 presents Model Simplification and Solution.
The remaining three chapters of the book apply the process modelling tools discussed in the previous chapters to some well known manufacturing processes. Compression molding, extrusion, and injection molding are addressed in Chapter 6, Short Fiber Composites. Chapters 7 and 8 discuss Advanced Thermoplastic Composite Manufacturing Processes, and Processing Advanced Thermoset Fiber Composites, respectively. Topics presented include: composite sheet forming processes; pultrusion; online consolidation of thermoplastics; autoclave molding; liquid composite molding; and filament winding of thermosetting matrix composites.
Overall, “Process Modeling in Composites Manufacturing” is both academically informative and easy to read. The abundance of exercise questions and “fill in the blanks” section at the end of each chapter help reinforce the material presented.