Prozesstemperaturregelung in der laserunterstützten Verarbeitung von faserverstärkten thermoplastischen Verbundkunststoffen

• Process temperature control in laser-assisted processing of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites

Kukla, Christian; Brecher, Christian (Thesis advisor); Fleischer, Jürgen (Thesis advisor)

1. Auflage. - Aachen : Apprimus Verlag (2022)
Book, Dissertation / PhD Thesis

In: Ergebnisse aus der Produktionstechnik 35/2022
Page(s)/Article-Nr.: 1 Online-Ressource : Illustrationen, Diagramme

Dissertation, RWTH Aachen University, 2022

Abstract

In this thesis, process temperature control in laser-assisted processing of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites is investigated and discussed. At the beginning, the state of the art in research and industry is shown. Fiber-reinforced composites and their processing in the form of UD semi-finished products form the basis for an understanding of the process. The associated production systems and important components and technologies are also presented and their weaknesses relevant to this work are discussed. This results in the research theses to be discussed and the overall research question. The theoretical consideration of the tape processing process forms the foundation for the further consideration of the process. In particular, the thermodynamic analysis of the tape processing process deals with the influencing variables in the heating process. The strong instationarity of the process and its causes are elaborated and clearly illustrated. Structure, components and modular control architecture of the used tape processing system are designed, developed and presented. This is a necessary basis for the process investigations, which are carried out in the further chapters. A full-factorial process investigation is then carried out to investigate the influence of various process parameters on the heating behavior in the process in a data analysis and to compare it with the theoretical observation. An agreement of the results of the process investigation with the theoretical consideration of the process is verified successfully and in agreement. These results are followed by the analysis of the recorded thermographic images in order to extract knowledge for digital image processing in process automation. By means of these research results, the implementation of a process temperature detection and control strategy for the process temperature is carried out. As a supporting tool, a process model is extracted from the existing process data. During the implementation, different approaches for control and digital image processing are compared and their suitability is evaluated. The digital image processing of the thermographic images as well as controls for the process temperature and the laser irradiation conditions in the process zone are successfully implemented and tested. The final step is a proof of process feasibility with the help of the implemented modular control system. This proof shows that the research theses and the overall research question can be answered positively. The research results of this thesis thus fully meet the set objective.

Institutions

• Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University [417200]
• Chair of Machine Tools [417310]