A method for the direct measurement of the fibre bed compaction curve of composite prepregs

A method to measure the fibre bed compaction curve directly from composite prepreg is presented. The method was used to measure the compaction curve of unidirectional and quasi-isotropic AS4/3501-6 carbon-epoxy prepregs. Similar compaction curves were obtained in all cases. The compaction curve obtained was used by a finite element process model, COMPRO, to simulate the uniaxial compaction of 8 and 16 ply laminates at different temperatures. The force-displacement response predicted by the model closely matched the experimental results. The method which can be used on both tape and fabric prepregs, has the major advantages of being a direct measure of the prepreg behaviour, and requires no special preparation of the sample. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. AII rights reserved.