LYNNTECH INC. — Department of Defense STTR Phase I: AFX20D-TCSO1

Description

The proposed work aims to improve manufacturing of thermoset composites and deliver a cost-effective manufacturing process to the US Air Force and other end users. Currently, thermoset composites are made by conventional processes using ovens/lamps that require a significant amount of energy and have low heating rates. Our recent discovery of volumetric heating using RF fields will be used to additively manufacture advanced composite structures using industrial-grade carbon fibers and commercially available thermoset resins. Exceptional heating rates of 70°C/s at 25 W for pre-impregnated fibers with epoxy can be achieved using RF energy. Our novel additive manufacturing technique consists of three successive steps to be carried out continuously in a single automated facility to generate a cured composite part. The proposed work enables out-of-oven technology development and additive manufacturing of continuous fiber composites. Our approach drastically reduces the power requirement and the duration of curing by directly heating the fiber, without increasing porosity in the material.