System including breakaway fasteners for fabrication of composite parts

A system for fabricating a composite part, the system comprising:

• a plurality of mold pieces coupled together to form an external mold within which the composite part is fabricated from a composite material;
• the composite material placed into the external mold to fabricate the composite part, wherein the composite material comprises dry fibers and resin, wherein a coefficient of thermal expansion of the plurality of mold pieces is higher than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the composite part;
• and
• a plurality of breakaway fasteners each extending through two or more of the mold pieces and coupling together two or more of the mold pieces of the plurality of mold pieces, wherein at least some of the plurality of breakaway fasteners comprise a structural weakness where breakage occurs during cooling following application of curing heat due to the composite part contracting slower during cooling than the plurality of mold pieces, wherein the structural weakness is one or more holes drilled through a central region of the one or more breakaway fasteners or one or more grooves cut into the central region of the one or more breakaway fasteners.