Missile cabin fabrication by bladder-assisted RTM

The missile cabin is unable to be fabricated by normal RTM (Resin transfer molding) in one step for it slarge size and complicated internal structure. The bladder assisted RTM was used to fabricate the missile cabin in
this paper. This process does not need a metal mandrel, the whole mold is light and the component consolidation is apparent by the inflated bladder pressure. The results show that the fiber volume fraction of the specimen formed by bladder assisted RTM reaches 61 %, and the tensile strength and the flexural strength are improved by 25 % and 26 % respectively compared to that by normal RTM. The missile cabin ultimate axial compression load and ultimate flexural load reach 130 % and 132 % of the target ultimate load.