Conclusion

Even if the speed with which knowledge advances is not always compatible with the pace of change in the industrial world involved in advanced composite molding, it is fair to say that in-depth scientific knowledge of the physics associated with structural composite molding processes has made a major contribution to the technological advances achieved, and has enabled the empiricism so deeply rooted in the world of manufacturing workshops to be gradually replaced by predictive quantitative rules. The models presented in this article are based on major principles that are not specific to composite materials; they are common to all processes involving mass and heat transport and thermomechanical loads. Starting from the local behavioral equations for the solid (fibers) and fluid (polymer) phases, where the heterogeneous and anisotropic character of structural composites is not visible at this...