Experimental Methods to Characterize the Woven Composite Prepreg Behavior during the Preforming Process

Abstract

This paper reports several characterization methods of the properties of the uncured woven prepreg during the preforming process. The uniaxial tension, biasextension, and bending tests are conducted to measure the in-plane properties of the material. The friction tests utilized to reveal the prepreg-prepreg and prepreg-forming tool interactions. All these tests are performed within the temperature range of the real manufacturing process. The results serve as the inputs to the numerical simulation for the product prediction and preforming process parameter optimization.