Mitigation of Fiber Print-Through During Replication of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Mirrors

Aiming at the phenomenon of fiber print-through (FPT) during the curing process of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) mirrors, this paper effectively mitigates FPT by improving the replication technique. This paper simulates and analyzes the causes of FPT generation and then improves the replication technique based on multiple explorations of the replication process. In the improved replication technique, a mold is designed to assist in the curing process of the mirrors and to further suppress the FPT on the surface by applying pressure during the curing process. In addition, the layup method, resin matrix, and curing equipment are also optimized and improved. The surface roughness of the CFRP mirrors before and after the process improvement is measured using an optical surface profilometer, and the roughness parameters such as the arithmetic average deviation, root mean square error, and maximum height are obtained. Measurement results show that the improved replication technique effectively mitigates FPT, the surface of the obtained CFRP mirror is smoother, and the application of pressure during curing can further reduce the roughness of the mirror surface.