Abstract
Carbon fiber Thermoplastic pre-preg tape laydown and consolidation used with Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) required high temperatures to melt the matrix. There are a few methods that can reach the desired temperature. Hot-gas torch, laser heating, and arc-flash lamp-based heating systems are the most popular among them. Among the three, arc-flash lamp-based heating provides the most versatility regarding heating range and controllability. The lamp pulses light of high radiation intensity to heat the tow and substrate material during laydown rapidly. The irradiance output by the lamp is controlled by three process parameters, namely, (1) pulse width, (2) pulsing frequency, and (3) voltage. Further control can be achieved by changing the distance between the flash lamp and the tows. Therefore, the irradiance output from the lamp can be widely varied by changing the process and geometric parameters. This study aims to characterize the irradiance output from a xenon arc-flash heating system and its control parameters. The Xenon flash lamp’s irradiance response was used to map the irradiance profile on the tow and substrate within an Automated Fiber Placement machine. The impact of the AFP control parameters like roller compaction, tow layup speed, and positioning of xenon flash lamp on the irradiance profile of the tow and substrate were also examined in this study.
