The paper gives a set of basic relations characterizing the phenomena of viscous polymer resin flow through fiber reinforcement and the resin curing process. We describe the technological process of manufacturing composite structures. The influence of the resin curing process on values of residual stresses in composite constructions is analyzed taking into account two components: thermal shrinkage and chemical shrinkage of resins. For cases of 2-D structures, the method of formulating such tasks has been demonstrated. The types of design variables appearing in the optimization problems in this area are also presented. The 2-D optimization problems have been formulated. Various optimization problems are solved in order to demonstrate the influence of discussed relations on values of residual stresses and curing processes of thermosetting resins.
Keywords: design variables; fundamental relations of resin flow and hardening; optimization; residual stresses; thermosetting resin curing process.