Fabricating carbon/carbon box elements using the resin transfer molding process

Carbon/carbon fiber composites are usually made by carbonizing phenolic/carbon fiber composites cured in the autoclave using phenolic resin/carbon fiber prepreg. The high strength, light weight, temperature resistant properties of CCC composites are valued in many applications. This paper presents a Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) method of manufacturing rectangular box elements. Molded carbon fiber preforms are loaded into a closed mold, the mold is evacuated and cyanate ester resin (Primaset PT-30, Lonza Corp.) is injected and cured. The molded part was then carbonized at high temperature in an inert atmosphere. The box element configuration was chosen to evaluate the merit of the process for fabricating geometrically complex carbon/carbon composite parts. To achieve the complex preform, a tackified carbon fiber fabric was used. Many of the processing details required to fabricate these carbon/carbon box elements will be presented and discussed.