A mathematical modeling approach to optimize composite parts placement in autoclave

The role of composite materials in the development of new advanced products for many industrial applications is strictly dependent on the reduction of materials and processing costs. High‐performance composites are usually manufactured utilizing prepregs for lamination and an autoclave, where the curing process of the thermosetting matrix is completed by increasing temperature and pressure. Several composite parts are commonly cured in the same autoclave leading to nonuniform thermal histories, which depend on their position inside the autoclave, and on the thermal inertia of parts. In this paper, we propose a mixed integer linear programming model to optimize the composite part placement into an autoclave. The main decision variables determine the orientation and placement of parts in the autoclave, while the objective function is formulated to minimize the maximum overexposure of the curing process. The validity for practical use of our model has been tested on a set of real cases.