Warpage induced in bi-material specimens: Coefficient of thermal expansion, chemical shrinkage and viscoelastic modulus evolution during cure

Processing of polymer-based composites requires deep knowledge of materials property evolution. In this paper, a comprehensive approach to account for the dimensional and mechanical property changes as function of process parameters is presented. Valid experimental results were obtained to model material properties during the curing process and good agreement has been found with proposed constitutive models. Theoretical predictions of the strip curvature are generated using commercial FEM software (ANSYS) and compared with experimental measurements.