Thermal Phenomena in Fiber-reinforced Thermoplastic Tape Winding Process: Computational Simulations and Experimental Validations

This paper presents experimentally validated three-dimensional transient simulations of the thermal phenomena of the tape winding process, as well as a method to determine separately the heat transfer between the hot gas originating from a torch and the composite material. The computational model predicts the temperature of the incoming tape and the substrate during the winding process. Each numerical simulation is based on an explicit time integration scheme and covers the duration of the process. The simulation within each time step employs a steady-state model. This method takes into account the cyclic nonuniform heating of the material and the effect of the growing mass. The comparison of the simulation results with the experimental data shows good agreements. The experiments were performed with preconsolidated glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene tapes. The measurements were performed with infrared pyrometry. This technique can handle moving points during the entire process, and is nonintrusive.