Skip to main content

Innovation Planets Parts - MOBILITY

JEC World


MASTRO Self-Cure Leading Edge

AMRC - University of Sheffield

Genesis of your product. why and for whom?

This leading-edge section is a demonstrator of the Self-Curing technology, which utilises the Joule heating effect to directly cure composites with extremely low energy consumption. It demonstrates aerospace geometry and high-performance materials such as high-temperature pre-preg and Nomex.

Benefits for the final customers?

Self-cure takes advantage of the electrically conductive properties of existing carbon fibre to enable low-power Joule heating for the curing of composites. For a 2-metre long component, using VARTM or pre-preg, less than 1 % of the energy was used, compared to an equivalent oven cure.

The product : materials and processes

This component uses generic aerofoil geometry, comprising the front 5 % of the aerofoil. The pre-preg used is UD SHD VTC 410, cured at 120°C, and post-cured at 180°C. A 5mm Nomex core is at the mid-ply to demonstrate the method's compatibility with core materials. The copper contacts required for the Joule heating were left on the component to demonstrate the manufacturing process steps.

View all Innovation Planets Parts - MOBILITY
Loading