The Center
for Intelligent Processing of Composites (IPC)
at Northwestern University
was established in December 1997 by the Office of Naval Research
(ONR) in order to:
- Develop a comprehensive,
commercially viable approach for fabrication of affordable,
functional and reliable composite structures;
- Develop science-based,
low-cost, automated and reproducible processing techniques,
equipment, sensors, and controls for fabrication of polymer
composites;
- Transfer results
to industry in cooperation and through direct participation
of goverment agencies.
Intelligent processing
of composite materials is an approach aimed at more direct control
of their quality and consistency by using a combination of:
- Theoretical models
relating process conidtions to product performance;
- Processing models
based on real-time in-process sensors;
- Software tools such
as expert systems, fuzzy logic, and neural networks for adaptive
controls.
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