Investigation of Thermal Residual Stresses in Co-Cured Aluminum/Composite Hybrid Shaft Using Finite Element Method

In this work, thermal residual stresses and deformation of an aluminum/composite hybrid shaft was studied using ABAQUS FEM software. First, the thermo-chemical model of the curing process was described, and the curing parameters were determined. Then, a FEM model of the co-cured aluminum/composite hybrid shaft was build up using ABAQUS FEM software. Finally, the distribution of the thermal residual stress and deformation in the co-cured aluminum/composite hybrid shaft due to curing was obtained, and the effect of cooling rate was analyzed. The results show that residual stresses can be reduced obviously by reasonable cooling rate. The cooling rate also affect the degree of cure which influenced the mechanic property of aluminum/composite hybrid structure directly.