PROCESSING PARAMETERS FOR CARBON PMR-15 COMPOSITE FLAT PANELS

A study was performed in the Missile Airframe Technology Group of the McDonnell Douglas Missile Systems Company to determine processing parameters for the fabrication of carbon/PMR-15 composite flat panels. Development began with the identification of bagging procedures required for autoclave processing of this material. After establishing processing parameters for carbon/PMR-15, this technology could then be applied to filament winding airframes for supersonic aircraft. A flat laminate has been successfully autoclave cured with a 1.7 volume percent void content using this approach. This new technique eliminates both the perforated caul plates and the bleeder pack, and uses a nonporous top sheet to block vertical resin flow.