Numerical simulation of cure deformation of composite taper shell with thermal protection layer

A three-dimensional finite element model was developed to simulate and predict the cure deformation during the winding processing of a composite taper shell with thermal protection layers. According to the results of numerical simulation, the first cause of the shell's cure deformation was the thermal expansion coefficient difference between protection material and structural material which lay on outer layers and inner layers respectively. Meanwhile, this cure deformation can be controlled effectively by adding the middle layer between outer layers and inner layers, which reduced about 20% deformation by using nitrile rubber as the middle layer's material. The effects of other influence factors were also discussed: cure deformation was increased by improving the middle layer's modulus and decreased slightly by increasing the middle layer's thickness; the relief of winding tension, to some degree, had an impact on deformation, and larger tension leads to higher deformation.