- Manufacturing process simulation enables the evaluation and improvement of autoclave mold concepts early in the design phase. To achieve a high part quality at low cycle times, the thermal behavior of the autoclave mold can be investigated by means of simulations. Most challenging for such a simulation is the generation of necessary boundary conditions. Heat-up and temperature distribution in an autoclave mold are governed by flow phenomena, tooling material and shape, position within the autoclave, and the chosen autoclave cycle. This paper identifies and summarizes the most important factors influencing mold heat-up and how they can be introduced into a thermal simulation. Thermal measurements are used to quantify the impact of the various parameters. Finally, the gained knowledge is applied to develop a semi-empirical approach for boundary condition estimation that enables a simple and fast thermal simulation of the autoclave curing process with reasonably high accuracy for tooling optimization.
