Curesim

Simulates the curing of thick polymer composite laminates and predicts thermal runaway using both analytical and numerical models.

This app is ideal for researchers, engineers, and students interested in composite processing, thermal modeling, or reaction kinetics.

What the App Does

Curesim is an interactive MATLAB App designed to simulate and analyze the curing process of thick polymer composite laminates. It integrates:

• A high-fidelity numerical solver for coupled heat transfer and cure kinetics.
• An analytical model based on perturbation theory for predicting thermal runaway.
• A second-derivative-based criterion to objectively detect thermal runaway in the numerical solution.

The app allows users to input material and process parameters, run simulations, and visualize:

• Temperature and degree of cure at the laminate centerline.
• The second derivative of temperature to assess thermal stability.
• Critical Damköhler numbers and peak exotherm predictions from both models.

Theoretical Background

The analytical model implemented in the app is based on the work:

R. Gebart (2024), Thermal runaway criterion for thick polymer composites, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 182, 108187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2024.108187

This model introduces a closed-form expression for the critical Damköhler number and peak exotherm, derived using a perturbation approach and a simplified cure kinetics approximation. The app also includes a high-precision numerical method that uses a second-derivative criterion to define thermal runaway, enabling direct comparison with the analytical predictions.

Tips for Users

• Use the Run button to simulate and observe how the temperature and cure profiles evolve over time.
• Try switching between the full autocatalytic and approximate kinetic models to see how the predictions differ.
• Adjust the Arrhenius number and wall temperature sliders to explore how these parameters influence the critical Damköhler number.
• Adjust the Damköhler number above and below its critical value, with fixed Arrhenius number and wall temperature, to see how the character of the solution changes.
• Examine the second derivative plot to understand how the curvature of the temperature profile signals thermal runaway.
• For advanced users: open the code and experiment with the model constants Ca and C_T to see how they affect the analytical predictions. Feel free to incorporate the underlying key functions (curesimu, Tbispeaks, Find_Da_crit) in your own code. All code is freeware under the GNU General Public Licensing version 3 or later.