Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Overview
Introduction
Materials Process Technology Applications
3.5
2.5
Glass & Carbon LFT & Continuous Other Fibers Varying Fiber Orientations
1.5
Metals
LFT Glass Composites Continuous Uni-directional Glass Composites
0.5
Plastics
0 0
Thermoplastic Composites
Benefits Unique properties Vibration dampening Light weight Potential for low cost Shelf life Recyclable Durability
Fatigue Corrosion Toughness
Limitations Cost
Materials Manufacturing Tooling
Thermoplastic Composites
Many Polymer Options Polyethylenes Polypropylenes Nylons Polycarbonates Acrylics Polyesters Polyimides Polysulfones Polyketones Polyurethanes the list continues Many Property Options ultimate strain > 100% no microcracking no delamination dampening no water uptake low dielectric properties melt formable weldable elastomeric - plastic - elastic behavior the list continues
Cost Challenge
Typical Aerospace Structure $50 - $100/lb and more
Materials: Carbon Fiber / Epoxy, Carbon Fiber / BMI, Carbon Fiber / PEEK Processes: Hand Lay Up
Costs in $/lb
Apply Materials and Processing Techniques being Developed for Automotive Applications to Aerospace Applications
Materials: Thermoplastic Woven Sheets, Glass, Carbon and Kevlar Fiber, Engineering Polymers Processes: Co-Compression Molding, CoInjection Molding, Thermoforming
Materials: Glass Fiber / Polypropylene, SMC/BMC Processes: Compression Molding, Injection Molding
Thermoplastic Materials
Commercial Materials
GMT (Glass Mat Reinforced Thermoplastics) Pultruded Products
LFT (Long Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics) CFT (Continuous Fiber Reinforced Thermopastics)
Wire coated products Commingled fibers Powder coated materials Film sticking Slurry processes
Typical short fiber thermoplastic material, granules with fiber length of approx. 2 to 4 mm, resulting fiber length in a part of approx. 0.4 mm
Long fiber thermoplastic material, pellets of and 1 fiber length, resulting fiber length in a part of approx. 4-6 mm in injection molding and approx. 20 mm in compression molding
Continuous reinforced thermoplastic material, tape used for woven sheets (thermoforming), filament winding or pultrusion
Matrix:
PE, PP, PA (6, 6/66, 12, ), PET, PBT, PC, PEI, PPS, SMA, blends,
Fiber content:
20% - 60% standard, some up to 84%
Product forms:
Tape, pellets (0.5, 1), woven tapes more complex textile structures in development
Consolidated Composite
Source: Vetrotex
Source: Vetrotex
TP
Glass
Commingling
Roving
Source: Vetrotex
Fiber/matrix combinations:
E-glass/PP, E-glass/PET
4.5
3.5
2.5
Fiber content:
60 % and 75 % by weight
Twintex
LFT Carbon Composites Metals Twintex LFT Glass Composites
Glass & Carbon LFT & Continuous Other Fibers Varying Fiber Orientations
1.5
Product forms:
Roving, fabric, pellets
0.5
Plastics
0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Limitations:
Matrix material must be usable for a fiber spinning process limitations in MFI/viscosity, additive type and additive content
Source: Saint-Gobain Vetrotex, Twintex PP and PET Mechanical Properties (non standard)
IR Oven
To Pellets
Charged Resin Powder
Source: Hexcel
Hexcel TowFlex
Specfic Tensile Properties of Polymer Matrix Composites
4.5
Typical fibers:
Specific Modulus (x108 in.)
TowFlex
Glass Carbon
Glass & Carbon LFT & Continuous Other Fibers ` Varying Fiber Orientations
3.5
2.5
Carbon Towflex
Typical resins:
PP, PA6, PPS, PEI, PEEK
1.5
Glass Towflex
LFT Glass Composites
0.5
Plastics
0 0 1 2 3
Specific Strength (x10 in.)
6
945
579
441
945
172
579
634
372
634
1055
448
1055
558
248
558
379
110
58 1.8 2.3
49 1.8 2.0
110
34 0.9 2.0
26 0.5 0.8
34 0.9 2.0
63 1.6 2.2
37
21 0.4 0.7
37
31 0.5 0.8
Process Technology
Injection Molding
Low-Structural Components
Structural Components
0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.1 1 Length (mm) 10 100 Modulus Strength Impact Processibility
Source: OCF
In continuous oriented fibers the load is ultimately fully transferred to the fiber As a result tensile creep is limited in fiber direction
Compression molding
LFT-pellets and concentrates (high performance resin/fiber combinations) Inline compounding (high performance resin/fiber combinations) Back molding / local reinforcement
Stamp forming
Preheated preforms Matched metal tools Potential to manufacture very thin sections (0.5 to 1 mm) Drapable material required
Continuous processes
Pultrusion LFT-extrusion
Cyclics
Cyclic form of PBT, PET, PC and others Only PBT commercial available Based on a ring shaped cyclical form One or two part systems Solid at room temperature low viscosity resin at elevated temperature (approx. 150 cP) Polymerize into the Polymer using a catalyst Isothermal process Typical process temperature: 180 200 oC
Reactive Nylon
Fulcrum
ISOPLAST matrix (Dow proprietary engineering thermoplastic polyurethane)
Thermoplastic viscosity issues addressed by ability to reverse polymerization in the melt stage, reducing viscosity to ensure good impregnation Repolymerizes upon cooling, retaining traditional thermoplastic composite advantages
High impact resistance Recyclability High elongation to failure (~2.5%, versus ~1-1.5% for thermosets) Zero-emissions processing
Fulcrum is the combination of ISOPLAST and pultrusion, with specific hardware design Provides 10-fold line speed improvement over typical thermoset pultrusion lines Allows thermoforming, welding, and overmolding of finished pieces
Figures from Fulcrum Thermoplastic Technology; Making High-Performance Composite via Thermoplastic Pultrusion Dow Plastics, J anuary 2000
45v.% and 55v.% data from Matweb.com 76.6wt.% and 66wt.% data from FULCRUM: Thermoplastic Composite Technology, Making High-performance Composite via Thermoplastic Pultrusion Dow Plastics, January 2000
Oxygen
Only limited support of material manufacturers Material costs (in case of c-PBT)
Thermoforming
Heat in Oven
Thermoforming Operation
Finished Product
Thermoforming
Weight performance:
Good weight/performance ratio for fabric reinforced sheets due to continuous fibers Reduced weight/performance ratio for extruded sheets depending on the resulting fiber length
Design flexibility:
Limited, especially for complex geometries Simulation tools available
Processability:
Stabilization against oxidation necessary Fiber disalignments with continuous fibers possible depending on geometry, material, tooling and process conditions
Recyclability:
High rate of production scrap (fixation) No direct recyclability Use in other processes like plastication of regranulation
Design flexibility:
Limited to preforming capability, flow length and flow behavior of the resin
Processability:
Reaction can be sensitive to moisture and fiber sizing
Recyclability:
Production scrap due to preforming step depending on preforming method No direct recyclability; can be used in other processes
TP Filament Winding
Weight/performance:
Excellent
Design flexibility:
Limited to symmetric parts that can be wound on a mandrel
Processability:
Higher oxidative stabilization required
Recyclability:
Low rate of production scrap No direct recyclability Scrap can be used in other processes
Design flexibility
Limited to drapability and to the posibility of manually lay up
Processability
Higher void content due to low pressure consolidation Using autoclave to reduce void content Often fiber disalignments
Recyclability
High rate of production scrap possible depending on the size of the material sheets and the part geometry No direct recyclability Scrap can be reused in other processes
LFT-Injection Molding
Weight/Performance
Lower end of thermoplastic composites due to reduced fiber length in the final part Improvements possible by using local reinforcements (using pultruded sections, sheets or tapes of continuous composites localized strengthening and stiffening, reduction of warpage)
Design Flexibility
High Flow channels and positions of gates have to be carefully designed
Processability
Highly stable
Recyclability
Low production scrap rate Can be reused in the same process
Compression Molding
Weight/Performance
Medium Retaining fiber length gives excellent properties for a random oriented material, but is lower than using a fabric Local reinforcement or fabric reinforced GMT improve it (using pultruded sections, sheets or tapes of continuous composites localized strengthening and stiffening, reduction of warpage)
Design flexibility
High Special simulation tools available
Processability
Very stable process
Recyclability
Some production scrap due to trim operations Scrap can be added and reused in the same process (GMT only sheets can be reused in the same process, but not recommended)
Curv
Self-reinforced polypropylene Consists of hot compacted polypropylene fiber or tape
Surface of tape or fiber melts during compaction to form the matrix that binds the directional elements together
Oriented morphology provides over six-fold increase in tensile strength and nearly 5-fold increase in tensile modulus over isotropic polypropylene, with ~2% weight penalty Nearly doubles tensile strength of 40% random mat short glass polypropylene, with comparable modulus and 22% weight savings Elimination of glass reinforcement has several advantages:
Increased recyclability Reduced weight Lower temperatures and pressures for thermoforming Reduced irritation in the workplace High strain to failure, with good impact strength
Data from A New Self-Reinforced Polypropylene Composite Jones, Renita S. and Derek E. Riley
Pultrusion
Weight/performance
Good to excellent due to continuous reinforcement
Design flexibility
Low design flexibility Limited to constant cross sections, but can be shaped (pull/press)
Processability
Only limited experience available Depends on stabilization of the material as well as used material form
Recyclability
Low rate of production scrap expected No direct recyclability Can be used in other processes
LFT-Extrusion
Weight/performance
Medium weight performance Depends on retaining fiber length
Design flexibility
Low design flexibility Limited to constant cross sections Can be post shaped or pull formed
Processability
Not a lot of experience A stable process is expected using the right die design
Recyclability
Low rate of production scrap Can be reused in the same process
Economics
Process Thermoforming TP S-RIM, RTM, VARTM Cycle Time Medium Medium to long, up to several minutes Tooling Costs Low VARTM: low, single sited tool RTM: low to medium S-RIM: Medium Low to medium Low, single sided tool Scrap Rate High Depends on preforming technique; often high for complex shaped parts Low Medium to high Overall Economics Good for low volume production with no or limited thickness variation Good for low volume production
Medium to long, depending on number of tapes and heating system Long; manual preparation can be hours for a part
Good for symmetrical parts in low to medium volume production Good for prototyping. Not recommended for production scale.
Very low
Low medium depends on cut outs. Scrap can be reused Low Low
Continuous process; not enough experience on throughput Continuous process; throughput mainly limited by cooling capacity of calibration die
Applications
Consumer / recreational
Orthotics, safety shoes, sporting goods, helmets, personal injury protextion, speaker cones, enclosures, bed suspension slats
Transportation
Railcar structure, body structure and closures
Helmets
Military helmet for Norwegian Army Made by Cato Composites 50,000/year TEPEX antiballistic 302 Aramid/PA6 continuous reinforcement
Source: Bond-Laminates GmbH www.bond-laminates.com
White water helmet Made by Prijon TEPEX dynalite 701 Glas, Carbon, Aramid/PA6.6 Continuous reinforcement
Source: Bond-Laminates GmbH www.bond-laminates.com
Aircraft Applications
Fixed wing leading edge for Airbus Fokker Special Products/Airbus TEPEX semipreg 107 Non fully consolidated, flexible layers of continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastics Glass/PPS Wing access panel for Airbus Fokker Special Products/Airbus TEPEX semipreg 207 Non fully consolidated, flexible layers of continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastics Carbon/PPS
Made from TEPEX antiballistic 302 Aramid/PA6 Continuous reinforced Made by Kvaerner
Source: Bond-Laminates GmbH www.bond-laminates.com
Safety Shoes
Composite Toecap
History:
Composite Toecaps were manufactured in the past using GMT with 50% fiber glass content Changing the regulations, this was not sufficient to meet the 200 J requirement
Newer development:
65 g / piece (metal 105 g /piece) 200 J resistance Made from Twintex and LFT, 60% fiber glass, PP Manufactured by Security Composites Ltd. (UK)
Others
GF/PP composite tank Produced by Covess (Belgium) using Twintex and GMT, welded out of 3 pieces and designed to withstand pressure to 100 bar Evaluation of thermoplastic composite rebars made with the Fulcrum process Thermoplastic composite bolts made by Clickbond Inc. using a thermoforming approach Loudspeaker cones, electronic housings and lightweight carbon fiber reinforced structural applications for the automotive industry made by Centrotec AG Prototype of a continuous fiber reinforced PP boat (JEC 2000 Innovation Award) made from Twintex using vaccum bag molding. Developed by Halmatic, Ltd. Golf club shafts made from PPS/carbon prepreg tape with 66 68% fiber content. Multi-step operation including a table rolling, a compression and an oven consolidating step. Manufactured by Phoenixx TPC.
Conclusions
High-performance thermoplastic composites with fiber-dominated properties are a way to
lower cost higher performance short cycle times Recyclability
Pre-impregnation can improve wet out and performance over commingled prepregs Materials and manufacturing methods are available
Acknowledgements