Towards the Development of Filament Wound Composite Structures Submitted to Very High Internal Pressure, Based on Complex Geometry Shapes

Industrial applications, especially composite structures bearing high internal pressure, and fabricated using the filament winding process face certain difficulties like the reinforcement of complex shapes, as well as the correct placement of fibers over the surface of a mandrel. In some cases the definition of the manufacturing parameters respond more to cost or time criteria rather than engineering standards, reducing largely the advantages of the said manufacturing process. In order to overcome these obstacles, this research aims to propose a solution that permits to fabricate complex shapes with the desired winding angles at a certain region of complex-shaped mandrels. A numerical tool that simulates the placement of fiber tows over the surface of complex geometries is developed and validated by means of the fabrication of convex and concave composite structures using detachable mandrels. Previous results show that it is feasible to wind complex geometries with good accuracy.