A Fuzzy Logic Control Model for the Curing Process of Heat-Activated Coupling of FRP Composites to Alloy Pipes

A fuzzy control (FLC) approach has been developed to control the curing process of a polymeric laminate used as the bonding material for the heat-activated coupling (HAC) of a fiberglass composite to Cu-Ni alloy pipe. Controlling the temperature of the curing environment is required in order to achieve uniform cure within the bonding prepreg. Without temperature control, the alloy side of the coupling is essentially a heat sink. Therefore, a controlled heat source on the alloy pipe is needed to compensate for the heat sink effect that tends to decrease curing temperatures within the laminate. The simulation results obtained show that the curing process of HAC of a composite-to-alloy pipe is significantly improved with required uniform cure characteristics being obtained through the thickness of the laminate.