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Intelligent Maturity Cure Prediction Model

(IMCPM) for Polymer Matrix Composite
Curing
DORESWAMY#

Abstract—In this paper, a novel Intelligent Maturity Cure Prediction Model(IMCPM) is designed to predict the mature cure rate
and temperature required for ideal curing of composite materials. Pre defined knowledge discovery models and numerical
simulation models are integrated as an Intelligent Maturity Cure Prediction Model (IMCPM) for predicting and analysis of cure
status that has inherently associated with polymer matrix, reinforcement fiber and the pultrusion process conditions. Polymer
resign matrix and reinforcement fiber properties satisfying the composite component are revealed by the data mining/knowledge
discovery models. The experimentally determined process conditions are defined in the knowledgebase of the proposed system
for improving decision making performance. The maturity cure status of composite materials is analyzed with kinetic model and
heat governing partial differential equation. IMCPM is a knowledge based prediction model, which incorporates heat transfer
and resin kinetic models coupled with materials database, knowledgebase of prerequisite processing strategies, and knowledge
discovery models for the prediction of polymer resign and reinforcement fiber satisfying the composite component. It predicts
optimal cure rate and temperature imperative for the ideal curing of epoxy resin impregnated composites, preventing part
overheating while maintaining maximum cure heat up rate. This results in a significant reduction in total cure time over standard
methods. The system uses a cure process model to determine optimal cure profiles for tool/part configurations of varying
thermal characteristics. These profiles indicate the heating and cooling necessary to insure a complete cure of part in the
pultrusion in the minimum amount of time. The model is shown to be a particularly convenient method for examining the
qualitative aspects of various process scenarios prior to running the pultruder.

Index Terms- Intelligent Cure Model, Polymer Matrix Composite, Pultrusion Technology.

——————————  ——————————

1. INTRODUCTION
Cure is a process which converts a liquid mixture into
a solid by means of a physical process or more usually
by means of a chemical reaction, which is often
activated by heat. Various techniques for cure analysis
are used to improve processing efficiency for quality
assurance of composite materials, to study cure
process to prevent wastage due to failure of resign to
react, to predict incorrect proportion of resign
components and to avoid poor mixing of resign, or
incorrect processing conditions. There is a diverse
range of materials that can undergo cure [15] with a
number of manufacturing process involving either
discrete or continuous part production. The major
manufacturing process such as Spray Lay-Up, Wet
Lay-Up/Hand-Lay Up, Vacuum Bagging, Filament
Winding, Pultrusion, Resign Transfer, Molding (RTM),
Injection Molding (IM), Prepeg, Resign Film Infusion,
Autoclaving and etc, involve the curing process with
environmental conditions, tooling requirements and
part access.
————————————————
# Post-Graduate Department of Studies and Research in Computer Science
Mangalore University, Mangalagangotri-574 199, Karnataka, INDIA
The currently using black box approach for cure
processing [3] is based on a rigorous compliance to the
supplier’s recommended schedule assumptions that
are made about the material state, curable time
schedules and materials properties. Thus, a rigid set of
processing conditions (temperature and pressure) are
adhered to, based on assumed material behavior
before, during and after cure, where conservative cure
times are used, including safety and quality
considerations. Thus require optimization of cure
process to avoid material degradation and improve the
material performance.
Design of optimal cure temperature cycle is an
imperative and active research area [3],[4],[5] for low-
cost of manufacturing matrix composites and several
research attempts have been made to design optimal
cure cycles. Knowledge based expert system was
developed to analyse cure cycles of thick polymer
matrix composites [6]. Numerical simulation together
with knowledge of curing process for thin laminate
was developed to determine the cure cycle for thick
laminates [7].

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A stochastic model was developed in which
parameters uncertainties were required as probability
density functions and deterministic numerical process
simulation based on the governing process[8].
Computer simulation tool [9] coupled with a
numerical optimization method was developed for the
optimal design of cure cycles of the production of
thermosets matrix composites parts. For simulation of
the cure cycle, one dimensional non-linear transient
model was developed and coupled with the strategies
of evolutionary algorithm. Numerical algorithms and
computer programs were developed to determine
optimal cure step in a tier curing process[2],[10]. A
systematic procedure for the optimal curing of rubber
components was presented for showing reversion type
cure behavior [10]. In this systematic procedure, first,
cure kinetic model[13] was proposed that could
explain the reversion of and the induction period
commonly found in the vulcanization of rubber
compounds. The state of cure behavior was analyzed
as function of cure temperature and time on the basic
of derived kinetic model.
In the proposed research, intelligent maturity cure
prediction model is proposed with knowledge
discovery process to predict the optimal cure
temperature of composite materials, when polymer
matrix, reinforcement fiber and manufacturing process
cure technique’s condition are given. The rest of
chapter is organized as follows. The section 2
emphasizes the typical structure of IMCPM integrated
with knowledge discovery models and
knowledgebase. Section 3 describes the models for heat
transfer, cure reaction and boundary conditions for
pultrusion processing technique. Section 4 presents
experimental results and the last section 5 concludes
and briefs about future work.
2. INTELLIGENT MATURITY CURE PREDICTION
MODEL
Intelligent Maturity Cure Prediction Model (IMCPM)
is a knowledge based prediction model which
incorporates heat transfer and resin kinetic models[13]
coupled with materials database[ 15], knowledgebase
of prerequisite processing strategies, and knowledge
discovery models for the prediction of polymer resign
and reinforcement fiber satisfying the composite
component. It predicts optimal cure rate and
temperature imperative for the ideal curing of epoxy
resin impregnated composites, preventing part
overheating while maintaining maximum cure heat up
rate. This results in a significant reduction in total cure
time over standard methods. The system uses a cure
process model to determine optimal cure profiles for
tool/part configurations of varying thermal
characteristics. These profiles indicate the heating and
1
113
cooling necessary to insure a complete cure of part in
the pultrusion in the minimum amount of time.
Knowledge
base
Pre-Staged
Liquid
Liqu
Fabricat
ion Cured
Low Viscosity
id Process Solid
Mixt &
Reinforcement
Fiber
Figure 1. Typical Structure of Intelligent Maturity Cure Model
The composite properties such as high-
temperature performance, corrosion resistance,
dielectric properties, flammability and thermal
conductivity are determined exclusively by the
properties of Polymer resin matrix. A wide variety of
fibers reinforcement and polymer resins can be
grouped to get a composite material with a broad
spectrum of properties by pultrusion process. The
reinforcement provides mechanical properties such as
stiffness, tension and impact strength and the resin
system (matrix) provides physical properties including
resistance to fire, weather, and ultraviolet light and
corrosive chemicals. Since each fiber and resin material
brings its own contribution to the composite,
knowledge of raw material properties is the first step
in designing a satisfactory composite product.
Materials, whose properties satisfy the composite
product, are selected from the material database by the
knowledge discovery models. The knowledge base of
the proposed system consists of set of rules facilitates
decision making on process conditions that include
thermal temperatures associated to boundary
conditions, kinetic parameters, and absolute
temperature of the composite.
The basic curing process shown in the figure 1 is
same in each manufacturing process. The polymer
matrix resign usually with low viscosity and the fiber
reinforcement with high viscosity are mixed to form
liquid composite mixture at gel state filled with cavity
of the curing chamber. The cure process progresses
with increase in the number and density of 3-D
structural cross-links follows until finally the material
achieves solid state [1]. At this point the material is
usually a hard, glassy solid with a glass transition
temperature higher than the cure temperature and no
further cure reaction can be achieved at the chosen
cure temperature. This marks the end of cure. At this
point a particular degree of cure has been achieved,
defined as the percentage of unreached species
conversion as compared to a fully cured material. A
fully cured material has undergone as much reaction
as possible such that further temperature increases or
cure duration will not achieve further reaction.
Continue heating of cured material may result in
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degradation of the cured solid with a reduction in
cross-links and a corresponding loss in performance.
3. MODELLING AND SIMULATION OF MATURITY
CURE ANALYSIS
One of the most cost-effective manufacturing methods
for polymer composites is pultrusion and is typically
used for high volume production on traditional
composite structure applications. Pultrusion process
involves numerous variables that affect the quality and
mechanical properties of the finished products. These
variables include pulling speed, dies wall temperature
profile, die length, filler and fiber type, fiber volume
fraction, fiber/resign wet-out and the kinetic
properties of the resign and etc. The die temperature
and line speed are two most important process
variables for a specific resign/fiber system.
Inadequate or excessive heating and improper pulling
speed will result very poor product performance or
even failure.
The pultrusion process begins when reinforcing
fibers are pulled from a series of creels. The fibers pass
through a bath, where they are impregnated with
formulated polymer resin. The resin-impregnated
fibers are preformed to the shape of the profile to be
produced. This composite material is then passed
through a heated steel die that has been machined
precisely to the final shape of the part to be
manufactured. Heat initiates an exothermic reaction
thus curing the thermosetting resin matrix. The profile
is continuously pulled and exits the mould as a hot,
constant cross sectional member. The profile cools in
ambient or forced air, or assisted by water. The
product emerges from the puller mechanism and is cut
to the desired length by an automatic and flying cutoff
saw.
Polymer matrix resign and reinforcement fiber
properties required in the modelling process include
composed density, specific heat, thermal conductivity,
heat of reaction[12], pre-exponential constant,
activation energy, heat of reaction and order of
reaction are the retrieved properties from the materials
property data space and the polymer matrix composite
properties are predicted by “Rule-Of-Mixture” model.
Figure 2. Schematic diagram of pultrusion technology
114
Pultrusion study is increasingly important in many
applications in manufacturing industries in these days.
Therefore, it has been an active research area.
Numerous research efforts have also been undertaken
to model and numerically simulate the thermal and
curing characteristics by different approaches and
focuses on transient and steady state problems such as
one dimensional, two dimensional, or three
dimensional and a variety of resign systems. Two main
numerical methods have been used in the literature to
simulate the heat transfer and curing process: finite
element method and finite difference method [17],[18].
3.1 Heat Transfer Model
A numerical model for curing system has been
implemented to simulate heat transfer in and cure of
polymer matrix composite. In this work, a thin
rectangular cross section profile is pultruded. A three
dimensional model is applied for simulating the
temperature and degree of cure along the length of
resign. Cartesian coordinates are used to describe the
systems. The energy balance equation [16] with
chemical reaction from resign acts as a source term is
expressed as follows
Heat in  Heat  Heat  Change in 
 flow   genearted  leaving   int erval  (1)
    
in  with in the  the body  energy 
       
time dt  body in dt  in time dt  during dt 
The basic assumption of the model are [14]
1. The pultrusion is steady state process with a fixed
line speed
2. The matrix and fiber have perfect bonding and the
same temperature every where
3. The velocity of composite in the radial and
transverse directions is zero.
The governing differential equation of heat for
measuring rate of heat generated in the composite
material is given in Cartesian coordinate
1 T   T    T    T 
Hs         (2)
 t x  x  y  y  z  z 
kc
Where  , thermal diffusivity, T is the
 c Cc v
temperature of the polymer matrix composite, v is the
velocity of the composite of axial direction,
c  v f  f  (1  v f )m
,
Cc  v f  f C f  (1  v f )  m C p
,
kl  v f k f  (1  v f )km (3)
are the bulk density, specific heat, longitudinal,
thermal conductivity, transverse thermal conductivity
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and total thermal conductivity of polymer matrix They include the given temperature and the degree of
composite, respectively The variable x, y and z cure at boundaries. At the entrance of the resign both,
represent three Cartesian coordinates. The degree of the polymer matrix composite temperature T0 is zero.
cure is a function of temperature and also of the The temperature at the entrance of the heater is Th , the
position of the steady state. The velocity of the initial degree of cure is zero as uncured liquid. The
composite in the axial direction is equal to pulling boundary conditions can be expressed as
speed U.
T(x=0, y, z) - T0; T(x=L,y=d,z= w)- Th;
3.2 Cure Model
 ( x  0, y, z )  0 ; (7)
The curing behaviour of polymer matrix (resign)
involved in pultrusion is governed by a complex
The outflow boundary condition exists at the outlet
exothermic chemical reaction. Attempts have been
made to describe the relationship among temperature, where the cured composite exits from pultrusion
degree of cure and rate of cure using appropriate chamber. The axial gradient along the longitudinal
model [11],[14]. Heat propagated with polymer resign direction is assigned zero.
and heat generated due to the polymer matrix
exothermic reaction influences and dominates the
dT
polymerization of polymer matrix composite. The heat 0 (8)
source term in the governing differential equation can dx x L
be expressed as:
d
Optimal C ure Temapartre  t o  H s  v f H t (4) The adiabatic boundary conditions set on x and z
dt
directions are
Ht is where the total of the heat of reaction;

d dT dT
is the rate of cure  0; 0 (9)
dt dy y 0
dz z 0
For modelling of the polymer matrix cure kinetics, the
d
rate of cure reaction 0 if   1 and
3.4 Maturity Cure Model
dt
negligible The maturity cure ( M c ) of the polymer composite is
defined as the optimal temperature required for cross
Hence, Arrhenius-type equation [215] is modified to
linking of molecules in the polymer matrix composite
d to develop optimal strength of the polymer matrix
approximate cure rate ,  1 .
dt composite. However, in transient thermal condition,
temperature (T) varies simultaneously with time (t)
d   EA  during pultrusion process and hence the total cure will
 K 0 exp (1  (1   ) )
n
(5)
dt  RT  be a function of both T and t.
  EA 
t
1
Where K 0 represents pre-exponential constant, EA Mc   K 0 exp (1  (1   ) n ) dt (10)
represents the activation energy, R is the universal gas 0
v  RT 
constant, T is absolute temperature of composites and
n is the order of equation. 4 .EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
The simulation results of the proposed models are
Since pultrusion is a steady state process, time is
analyzed with composite properties computed from
depended variable. The speed of the traveling along the
the epoxy resign and glass fiber properties discovered
resign bath is equal to the line speed and the speed in
other direction can be thought as zero. Thus time is only a by knowledge discovery models based on the input
function of x, the concentration of the resign species design properties. The computed composite properties
governed by the species equation for degree of cure and the discovered materials are listed in table 1. Heat
source temperature determined by finite element
d 1 d 
 (6) procedure and the thermal process conditions defined
dx v dt for pultrusion process in the knowledgebase are listed
in table 2.
3.3 Boundary and Initial Conditions
The impregnate fiber package by formed by
Boundary and initial conditions are required in preformed called fiber arrangement plates, before
ordered to solve the heat transfer governing equation. entering into die, which is made of chrome-plated steel

1
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and multiple pieces depending on the cross section the die wall. Figure 6 shows that the ideal temperature
geometry of the rectangular shape product. The cavity required for ideal curing of composite material
proposed for manufacturing the rectangular shape increases with increases of fiber volume fraction, heat
composite is 2 inch wide, 0.125 inch thick and 36 inch source and pulling speed.
long and its boundary initially conditions T=100 0C and
Tw = 120 0 0C. The rate of cure of composite material with
pultrusion technology depends on the exothermic
TABLE 1 chemical reaction and the thermal dipusitivity during
RETRIEVED POLYMER MATRIX AND REINFORCEMENT FIBER reaction. Thermal dipusitivity depends on the volume
PROPERTIES FROM THE MATERIALS DATABASE AND THE fraction of composite such that Vm + Vf = 1.0. The
COMPUTED POLYMER MATRIX COMPOSITE PROPERTIES maturity cure with the varying polymer resign volume
fraction at different time events and the corresponding
Polymer Volume Density Specific Thermal Thermal thermal dipusitivity are plotted in the graph shown in
Matrix Fraction (Kg/M3) Heat Conductiv Dipusitivity Figure 7. The rate of thermal dipusion of polymer and
/fiber/ (J/Kg.K) ity ( ) fiber molecules increases with increases of polymer
Matrix (W/M.K) resign molecules and is similar to the exponential
Composite growth of maturity cure. The maturity state ideal as
Epoxy 0.56 1255.0 670.0 0.2 long as the enough resign volume fraction and it
Resign recycles back to staring degradation point when the
Fiber Glass 0.44 670.0 1255.0 1.04 resign volume fraction falls within certain threshold
5.53497E-09
Composite 1.0 682.5 594457.5 2.2456335 value.
Material
Table 3 shows the predicted temperature ranges,
During pultrusion, the fiber resign package is cure ranges, ideal temperature and ideal cure state for
continuously pulled through the heated die. The heat is different values of fiber volume fraction and heat
transferred from the high temperature die wall to fiber- source and pulling speed. Table 4 shows maturity cure
resign bundle and it starts an exothermic chemical temperature computed for different values of
reaction to initiate the resign to start curing. Figure 3 predicted optimal temperature, resign volume fraction,
shows the decrease of heat generated and flow and the optimal heat source and pulling speed
increase of rate of cure composite material cross linking
of composite materials during exothermic chemical
reaction. If the rate of cure increases with decreases of TABLE 2
heat flow respect to time, the composite material is curing PREDEFINED PROCESS CONDITIONS IN THE
with the deformation of mechanical properties. Hence, an KNOWLEDGEBASE
optimal cure rate to balance the heat generated and the
fixed die wall temperate is essential to avoid deformation Parameters Symbol Data Units
of composite material during curing. It shows the ideal Pre-Exponential Constant K0 2.50E+05 S-1
temperature and cure rate ranges enclosed the optimal
cure rate and optimal temperature required for cross
Activation Energy E A 64.0 KJ/Mol.

linking of composite molecules for avoiding the Heat of Reaction Ht 375.0 KJ/Kg
deformation of composite molecules cross linking. Figure
Order of Reaction n 1.69 --
4 shows the rate of cure of composite materials with
Gas Constant R 8.314 J/K/Mol.
respect to time for different pulling speed along x
direction. The rate of cure decreases with time as the Heat Source Hs 38.0 Degree C
pulling speed of fiber increases. The optimal cure rate
and the optimal temperature will be different for
different pulling speed of fibers.

The optimal cure depends on the volume fraction

for fiber, pulling speed and the fixed temperature of
the die wall. Figure 5 shows lower boundary, upper
boundary and the optimal cure rates predicted for
different pulling speeds of fiber, volume fractions of
fiber and different die wall temperatures considered in
pultrusion process.

The ideal temperature generated during

exothermic chemical reaction also depends on the
pulling speed, volume fraction and the heat source of
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O p ti m a l C u r e R a te P r e d i c te d
0 .0 0 2 5
Rate of Cure with varying Temparture
LBC R V U BC R V OC R V
0.025 38
Degree of Cure Temparture
0.022581142
0.022543549
0.022502268
0.02245673
0.022406241 0.022676156
0.022647082
0.022615522 0 .0 0 2
0.022349946
0.022286783
0.022215414
0.022134129
0.021932216
0.021652628
36.94674448 0.021239915 37
0.020569466
0.02 0.020048378
0.019291391
36 0 .0 0 1 5
35.72570125

C ure Rate
0.015914211
0.015
Degree of Cure

Temparture
35
34.65801575 0 .0 0 1

0.010829994
33.94880787 34
0.01 33.78984069
33.68041204
33.53961792
33.45294815
33.39423471
33.35183294
33.33476314
33.31977564
33.3065114
33.29468941
0 .0 0 0 5
33.2840866
33.27452364
33.26585474
33.25796011
33.25074048
33.24411283
33.23800722
33

0.005 0.005015502
32 0
5 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22

0 31 35 40 45 50 55 65 70 75 80
5 10 20 40 50 60 80 100 120 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250
0 .1 5 0 .2 5 0 .3 5 0 .4 5 0 .5 5 0 .6 5 0 .7 5 0 .8 5 0 .9 5
Time
D i f fe r e n t V a l u e s o f V , H S a n d V f

Figure 3. Intersection point showing optimal cure range (0.0108,

0.0159) with optimal temperature range in degree (35.7257, P r e d ic t e d O p t im a l T e m p a r tu r e
34.65.801 ) 80
P r e d ic t e d T D e g r e e C 7 4 .3 8
70
6 5 .1 2
60 6 0 .4 5
Cure Rate With Disffrenet Speed(v) 5 6 .3
5 2 .6
0.0025
50 4 7 .8

T e m p . D e g re e C
40 3 9 .1 8 3
3 7 .5 7
0.002 cure with v = 10 cure with v= 15 3 3 .0 2
cure with v = 20 cure with v = 25 30

20
Cute0.0015
Rate

10

0.001 0
35 40 45 50 55 65 70 75 80

0.0005 5 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22

0 .1 5 0 .2 5 0 .3 5 0 .4 5 0 .5 5 0 .6 5 0 .7 5 0 .8 5 0 .9 5
0
5 10 20 40 50 60 80 100 120 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250
V a r y in g H e a t S o u r c e ( H S ) , P u llin g S p e e d ( V ) a n d F ib e r V o lu m e F r a c t io n ( V f )
Time(Miniutes)

Figure 6. Optimal Temperature predicted for different values of

heat source, pulling speed and fiber volume fractions

Figure 4. Shows the cure rate for different pulling speeds with
varying time
M a tu ri ty C u re D e pe n ds V o l u m e F ra cti o n o f R e s i g n
1 .4 1 .0 0 0 0 0 E - 0 8
M a tu r i ty C u r e
T h e r m a l D i p u s i ti v i ty 9 .0 0 0 0 0 E - 0 9
1 .2
8 .0 0 0 0 0 E - 0 9
1 7 .0 0 0 0 0 E - 0 9
6 .0 0 0 0 0 E - 0 9
0 .8

T h e r m a l D ip u s it iv it y
M a t u r it y C u r e

5 .0 0 0 0 0 E - 0 9
0 .6
4 .0 0 0 0 0 E - 0 9

0 .4 3 .0 0 0 0 0 E - 0 9
2 .0 0 0 0 0 E - 0 9
0 .2
1 .0 0 0 0 0 E - 0 9
0 0 .0 0 0 0 0 E + 0 0
0 .8 5 0 .7 5 0 .6 5 0 .5 5 0 .4 5 0 .3 5 0 .2 5 0 .1 5 0 .0 5

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
R e s ig n V o lu m e F r a c t io n a n d V a r y in g T im e

Figure 7. Maturity Cure Predicted at different events with varying

Figure 5. Optimal cure range prediction on different values of volume fraction of resign.
pulling speed, heat source and fiber volume fraction

1
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TABLE 3
SIMULATED RESULTS APPROXIMATE CUTE TEMPARATURE OBTAINED FOR DIFFERENT VALUES OF VOLUME FRACTIONS OF FIBER AND
HEAT SOURCE AND PULLING SPEED
Fiber Heat Velocity of Thermal Predicted Predicted Approximate Approximate
Volume Source Pulling dipusitivity Cure range Temperature Cure point Curing
Fraction Computed Speed Computed Range Temperature
0.15 35 5 3.55404E-09 ( 0.001524, 0.0021234 ) ( 32.545 ,33.532 ) 0.00185 33.02
0.25 40 8 4.09088E-09 ( 0.001098, 0.0014743) ( 37.522, 38.315 ) 0.00145 37.57
0.35 45 10 4.66810E-09 ( 0.001791, 0.0018261) ( 39.165 ,46.238) 0.00176 39.18
0.45 50 12 5.30045E-09 ( 0.000864, 0.0012694) ( 46.822 ,49.799 ) 0.00111 47.82
0.55 55 14 6.06720E-09 ( 0.000839, 0.0012333) ( 51.945 ,52.925) 0.00119 52.67
0.65 65 16 6.81192E-09 ( 8.12717E-05, 0.0001294 ) ( 55.884 ,57.024 ) 0.00014 56.33
0.75 70 18 7.75067E-09 ( 0.0008425, 0.001231) ( 60.230 ,61.815 ) 0.00089 60.45
0.85 75 20 8.87283E-09 ( 0.0008680, 0.001273) ( 64.641 ,66.354 ) 0.00099 65.12
0.95 80 22 1.02538E-09 ( 0.000134, 0.0001634) ( 74.219 ,74.249 ) 0.00015 74.38
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TABLE 4
MATURITY CURE COMPUTED FOR DIFFERENT VOLUME FRACTIONS OF RESIGNS, OPTIMAL
HEAT SOURCE, PULLING SPEED AND FOR PREDICTED OPTIMAL TEMPERATURE.

Resign Approximate Time Thermal Maturity

Volume Curing (Min.) dipusitivity Cure(MC)
Fraction Temperature (Alpha)
0.85 33.02 5 3.55404E-09 0.059467
0.75 37.57 10 4.09088E-09 0.140818
0.65 39.18 15 4.66810E-09 0.243069
0.55 47.82 20 5.30045E-09 0.381267
0.45 52.67 25 6.06720E-09 0.553602
0.35 56.33 30 6.81192E-09 0.753072
0.25 60.45 35 7.75067E-09 1.00909
0.15 65.12 40 8.87283E-09 1.332327
0.05 74.38 45 1.02538E-09 0.176025

5. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK SCOPE

Intelligent Maturity Cure Prediction Model(IMCPM)
for polymer matrix composite curing has been
developed successfully for predicting optimal cure
status based on the predefined materials properties
and process conditions defined in the knowledgebase
of the systems.
Procedure for the simulation of temperature, cure
profiles with the governing equations for heat
transfer and the resin cure reaction during pultrusion
are presented. Existing Finite-element procedure is
used to solve the governing equations. The numerical
behaviors of the procedure are investigated by a
number of numerical simulations. It is shown that the
procedure is numerically stable and predicts the
temperature and cure profiles. Emphasis is placed on
predicting the effects of the heat evolved by the
exothermic reaction in response to a boundary
condition derived for the gap occurring between the
die wall and bulk pultruded material. The model is
shown to be a particularly convenient method for
examining the qualitative aspects of various process
scenarios prior to running the pultruder.
Predictions made by the mathematical model are
to be compared with temperature measurements
obtained from an actual pultrusion run. The numerical
behaviors of the procedure are to be investigated to see
that whether the procedures are numerically stable to
predict the temperature and cure profiles, which are in
good agreement with those published by other
researchers.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work has been supported by the University Grant
Commission(UGC), INDIA under Major Research
Project entitled “Scientific Knowledge Discovery
Systems (SKDS) For Advanced Engineering Materials
Design Applications” vide reference F.No. 34-99\2008
(SR), 30th December 2008. The author gratefully
acknowledges the support. The author thanks the
anonymous reviewers of this paper for their excellent
comments and suggestions.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Doreswamy received
B.Sc degree in Computer
Science and M.Sc Degree
in Computer Science
from University of
Mysore in 1993 and 1995
respectively. After
completion of his Post-
Graduation Degree, he
subsequently joined and
served as Lecturer in
Computer Science at
St.Joseph’s College,
Bangalore from 1996-1999 and at Yuvaraja’s College, a
constituent college of University of Mysore from 1999-
2002. Then he has elevated to Reader in Computer
Science at Mangalore University in year 2003. He was
the Chairman of the Department of Post-Graduate
Studies and Research in Computer Science from the
years 2003-2005 and from 2008-2009 and served at
various capacities in Mangalore University and at
present he is the Chairman of Board of Studies in
Computer Science of Mangalore University. His areas
of research interests include Data Mining and
Knowledge Discovery, Artificial Intelligence and
Expert Systems, Bioinformatics, Molecular Modelling
and Simulation, Computational Intelligence,
Nanotechnology, Image Processing and Pattern
Recognition. He has been granted a Major Research
Project entitled “Scientific Knowledge Discovery
Systems(SKDS) for advanced Engineering Materials
Design Applications” from the funding Agency
University Grant Commission, New Delhi, INDIA. He
has published about 30 contributed peer reviewed
research papers at National/International Journals and
Conferences. He received SHIKSHA RATTAN