ABSTRACT
An Advanced Autoclave Process Control System (APCS) to optimize autoclave processing of composites is presented and discussed. A genetic algorithm code developed at NRC has been modified to develop the optimizer in the APCS. An objective function based on minimum degree of cure, part temperature, time of processing and warpage has been developed to evaluate a cure cycle generated by the genetic algorithm. SIMCLAVE has been developed to predict accurately thermal boundary conditions for the processed part. A thorough parametric analysis is currently underway to develop the process-window for the optimized cure cycle. Results on the ability of the APCS to generate optimized cure cycle will be presented and discussed at the conference.
