MECH 425/6521

Manufacturing of composites
Fall 2023

Course Instructor: Professor Suong Van Hoa

E-mail : hoasuon@encs.concordia.ca

Office Hours: Thursday, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm at EV 04.233

Labs: Lab Demonstrator:

Mr. Ali Ebrahimi: ali.ebrahimi@concordia.ca

Marker: Mr. Mohammadali Rastak: Mohammadali.Rastak@gmail.com

Course Calendar Description:

This course focusses on fibers and resins. Hand Lay Up. Autoclave curing. Compression Molding. Filament
winding. Resin Transfer Molding. Braiding. Injection Molding. Cutting. Joining. Thermoset and
thermoplastic composites. Polymer nanocomposites. Process Moldeling and Computer Simulation. Non
Destructive evaluation techniques.

Prerequisite/Co-requisite: MECH 311 or MIAE 311

Specific Knowledge and Skills Needed for this Course:

Students taking this course are expected to have knowledge of polymer science. Should you have
difficulties in any of this topic, you are strongly encouraged to review them before the DNE deadline.

Course materials
Required Textbook: Principles of the manufacturing of composite materials, 2nd edition, Suong V. Hoa,
DEStech publications, 2018.
Lab Manual: Will be posted on Moodle at the beginning of the course

Grading:

Assessment item MECH 6521 MECH 425

Mid term exam 20% 20%
Homework 10% 10%
Lab work 20%
Project 20%
Final exam 50% 50%
Total 100% 100%
Course Schedule

1. Introduction to composite materials.

2. Matrix materials.
3. Polymer nano-composites
4. Reinforcements. Fiber forms. Fiber deformation
5. Manual lay-up and Manufacturing using Autoclave.
6. Out-of-Autoclave Manufacturing.
7. Filament winding.
8. Pultrusion.
9. Liquid Composite Molding.
10. Thermoplastic composites.
11. Automated Composites Manufacturing.
12. Cost considerations.
13. Health and Safety considerations.

Lab Details (MECH 425)

Students will carry out the following labs:

• Determine the gel point in resin.
• Differential Scanning calorimetry.
• Hand Lay-Up and Autoclave curing.
• Resin Transfer Molding.
• Vacuum Assisted Transfer Molding.

Project details: (MECH 6521)

Students will work in groups. Students will make samples out of carbon/epoxy using Hand-Lay-Up and
autoclave. Quality assessment will be made to check for void content, fiber distribution, and degree of cure.
Health and Safety Guidelines
All health and safety rules specific to this course can be found in the lab manual. General health and
safety instructions and available health and safety trainings are discussed at:
Safety Programs - Concordia University

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