Development and physico‐mechanical behavior of LDPE–sisal prepreg‐based composites

Low‐density polyethylene (LDPE)‐coated sisal fiber prepreg was prepared by using solution coating process. These coated fiber prepregs were consolidated to make composites having different weight fraction of sisal fibers in a hot compression‐molding machine. This experimental study reveals that higher loading of sisal fiber up to 57wt% in LDPE–sisal composites is possible by this technique. Mechanical and abrasive wear characteristics of these composites were determined. The tensile strength of composites increased with the increase in sisal fiber concentration. Coating thickness of LDPE was varied by changing the viscosity of LDPE–xylene solution that manifested to different weight fraction of fiber in sisal–LDPE composites. Mechanical, dynamic mechanical, and abrasive wear characteristics of these composites were determined. The tensile strength and modulus of sisal composites reached to 17.4 and 265 MPa, respectively, as compared to 7.1 and 33MPa of LDPE. Storage modulus of sisal composites LD57 reached to 2.7 × 10⁹ MPa at 40°C as compared to 8.1 × 10⁸ MPa of LDPE. Abrasive wear properties of LDPE and its composites were determined under multi‐pass mode; pure LDPE showed minimum specific wear rate. The specific wear rate of composites decreased with the sliding distance. Increase of coated sisal fiber content increased the specific wear rate at all the sliding distances, which has been explained on the basis of worn surface microstructures observed by using SEM. POLYM. COMPOS., 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Thermo‐mechanical behavior of stretch‐broken carbon fiber and thermoplastic resin composites during manufacturing

Stretch‐broken fiber reinforcements and thermoplastic resin commingled prepregs are interesting for manufacturing composite parts in aeronautic and automobile industries. With these materials it is possible to produce composite parts with complex geometries, and high curvatures. On the other hand the length of the fibers leads to mechanical properties of the final composite that are close to those of the composite with continuous fibers. This paper analyzes the thermo‐mechanical properties of Stretch Broken Carbon Fiber (SBCF) / PPS and PEEK commingled prepregs during manufacturing. Tensile and in‐plane shear tests at different temperatures are analyzed. The experiments are realized in an isothermal oven. The range of temperature is those of the part during a thermoforming process. The experimental data allow to analyze the differences on the tensile and in‐plane shear behaviors at different temperatures between thermoplastic prepregs with continuous fibers and thermoplastic prepregs with stretch‐broken fibers. Forming simulations show that wrinkling can be avoided with SBCF prepregs while these wrinkles develop during continuous fibers prepreg forming. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:694–703, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Nonwoven polylactic acid and flax biocomposites

Flax fiber‐reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites were made using a new technique incorporating an air‐laying nonwoven process. Flax and PLA fibers were blended and converted to fiber webs in the air‐laying process. Composite prepregs were then made from the fiber webs. The prepregs were finally converted to composites by compression molding. The relationship between the main process variables and the properties of the biocomposite was investigated. It was found that with increasing flax content, the mechanical properties increased. The maximum tensile strength of 80.3 MPa, flexural strength of 138.5 MPa, tensile modulus of 9.9 GPa and flexural modulus of 7.9 GPa were achieved. As the molding temperature and molding time increased, the mechanical properties decreased. The thermal and morphological properties of the biocomposites were also studied. The appropriate processing parameters for the biocomposites were established for different fiber contents. POLYM. COMPOS., 34:1611–1619, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Preparation and Mechanical Properties of Long Glass Fiber Reinforced PA6 Composites Prepared by a Novel Process

Summary: Long glass fiber reinforced PA6 (LGF/PA6) prepregs were prepared by impregnating PA6 oligomer melt into reinforcing glass fiber followed by subsequent solid‐state polymerization (SSP) to obtain LGF/PA6 composite pellets. A conventional injection‐molding machine suitable for short glass fiber reinforced composites was applied to the processing of the prepared composites, which reduced the fiber length in the final products. Mechanical properties, thermal property, and fiber length distribution of injection molding bars were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the impact fracture surfaces and the surfaces of glass fiber after the SSP. It was found that the LGF/PA6 composites were of favorable mechanical properties, especially the impact strength, although the average length of glass fiber was rather short. By this novel process, the content of glass fiber in composite could be high up to 60 wt.‐% and the maximum level of heat distortion temperature (HDT) was close to the melting temperature of PA6. SEM images indicated the favorable interfacial properties between the glass fiber and matrix. The glass fiber surfaces were further observed by SEM after removing the matrix PA6 with a solvent, the results showed that PA6 macromolecules were grafted onto the surface. Furthermore, the grafting amount of PA6 was increased with SSP time.

SEM images of impact fracture surfaces of LGF/PA6 composites (left) and of glass fiber surfaces after removing PA6 with 5 h SSP (right).     

玻璃纤维增强生物基PA5T/56的制备与性能

通过物理共混改性制备了不同玻璃纤维含量的聚对苯二甲酰戊二胺/聚己二酰戊二胺(PA5T/56)复合材料,研究了不同玻璃纤维含量对复合材料力学性能、热性能、吸水率和结晶行为的影响。结果表明,随着玻璃纤维含量的增加,复合材料的力学性能、热稳定性得到大幅度提升,而吸水率逐渐降低。当玻璃纤维含量的质量分数达到40%时,PA5T/56复合材料的拉伸强度、弯曲强度、无缺口冲击强度分别为226.6 MPa、349.7 MPa和66.6 kJ/m²;吸水率为0.87%,与纯树脂相比,吸水率降低了43.8%。玻璃纤维的引入可以适当提高PA5T/56复合材料的结晶速率。     

连续玻璃纤维增强PLA复合材料3D打印技术研究

以聚乳酸(PLA)为基体,连续玻璃纤维为增强体,采用熔融浸渍工艺制备连续玻璃纤维预浸丝,将制得的预浸丝作为3D打印耗材用于熔融沉积(FDM)的3D技术来制备连续玻璃纤维增强PLA复合材料试样,并研究了打印温度、层厚和打印速度对复合材料力学性能的影响。结果表明,当打印层厚为0. 5 mm,打印温度为230℃,打印速度为2 mm/s时,连续玻璃纤维增强PLA复合材料的弯曲性能最佳,弯曲强度和弯曲模量分别为327. 84 MPa和20. 293 GPa。综合考虑复合材料的力学性能、表面质量和尺寸稳定性,连续玻璃纤维增强PLA复合材料的最佳打印层厚为0. 5 mm,适宜的打印温度范围为200~220℃,打印速度范围为2~4 mm/s。     

Phenol‐modified polypropylenes as adhesion promoters in glass fiber–reinforced polypropylene composites

This publication is based on research work done on functional phenol‐modified polypropylenes (PPs) as adhesion promoters in glass fiber–reinforced PP composites. The glass fiber roving was first impregnated with different combinations of functional polymers and polypropylene in a melt impregnation die attached to an extruder to obtain prepreg. The prepreg was then tested in many ways both macro‐ and micromechanically. The tests included notched tensile tests, optical and electron microscopy, and DMTA (dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer) and DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) analyses as well as determination of the glass content. The tests were run on prepregs containing pure PP, PP with a commercial adhesion promoter, and PP with a number of functional, mostly phenol‐based, polymers. Also, single‐fiber tests were performed on individual glass fibers to test the level of adhesion with the above‐mentioned material combinations. With these tests it could be seen that some of the phenol‐based functional polymers provided the prepreg with better adhesion between the fibers and the matrix than did the commercial adhesion promoter. Optical and electron microscopy also were used in determining the level of adhesion as well as the deformation and fracture mechanisms of the prepreg. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 1203–1213, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10441     

Processing and properties of solution impregnated carbon fiber reinforced polyethersulfone composites

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites are attractive because of their high stiffness and strength‐to‐weight ratios. In order to fully utilize the stiffness and strength of the reinforcement fiber, it is necessary to bring the polymer matrix and the reinforcement fiber together with homogeneous wetting. In this paper, a solution processing technique and the mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforced polyethersulfone composites were investigated. The polymer was dissolved in cyclopentanone and fed onto a continuous carbon fiber tow using a drum winder. The solution‐processed composite prepregs were then layed up and compression molded into unidirectional composite panels for evaluation. The composite samples showed uniform fiber distribution and reasonably good wetting. The longitudinal flexural modulus was as high as 137 GPa, and longitudinal flexural strength 1400 MPa. In addition, the effects of polymer grade and processing conditions on the mechanical properties of the composites were discussed. It is suggested that the transverse properties and interlaminar fracture toughness could benefit from higher polymer matrix molecular weight. A careful design in the spatial distribution of the molecular weight would be necessary for practical applications.     

Microstructure and fracture behavior of (co)injection‐molded polyamide 6 composites with short glass/carbon fiber hybrid reinforcement

The mechanical and fracture properties of injection molded short glass fiber)/short carbon fiber reinforced polyamide 6 (PA 6) hybrid composites were studied. The short fiber composites of PA 6 glass fiber, carbon fiber, and the hybrid blend were injection molded using a conventional machine whereas the two types of sandwich skin–core hybrids were coinjection molded. The fiber volume fraction for all formulations was fixed at 0.07. The overall composite density, volume, and weight fraction for each formulation was calculated after composite pyrolysis in a furnace at 600°C under nitrogen atmosphere. The tensile, flexural, and single‐edge notch‐bending tests were performed on all formulations. Microstructural characterizations involved the determination of thermal properties, skin–core thickness, and fiber length distributions. The carbon fiber/PA 6 (CF/PA 6) formulation exhibits the highest values for most tests. The sandwich skin‐core hybrid composites exhibit values lower than the CF/PA 6 and hybrid composite blends for the mechanical and fracture tests. The behaviors of all composite formulations are explained in terms of mechanical and fracture properties and its proportion to the composite strength, fiber orientation, interfacial bonding between fibers and matrix, nucleating ability of carbon fibers, and the effects of the skin and core structures. Failure mechanisms of both the matrix and the composites, assessed by fractographic studies in a scanning electron microscope, are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 97: 957–967, 2005     

Characterization of nanocomposite laminates fabricated from aqueous dispersion of nanoclay

Preparation of E‐glass/waterborne epoxy prepregs containing natural nanoclay and properties of their composites are presented. Prepregs were prepared by wetting randomly oriented, chopped glass fiber preforms with aqueous dispersion of EpiRez 3522‐W‐60 resin, dicyandiamide, 2‐methylimidazole and natural nanoclay (Cloisite® Na⁺). The nanoclay content of the aqueous dispersion was adjusted to yield final nanoclay contents of 0, 1, 2, and 4 wt%, whereas the glass fiber content is kept constant at 47 wt%. These prepregs were then used to fabricate disk‐shaped composite samples by APA2000 rheometer. Composite samples were tested for interlaminar shear strength, flexural stiffness, and glass transition temperature. The flexural stiffness was observed to increase by more than 26% over the range of nanoclay loading, despite a 13% decrease in interlaminar shear strength. Similarly, glass transition temperature increased from 89°C to above 94°C for the samples comprising 4 wt% nanoclay. X‐ray diffraction analyses indicated 48% increase in the gallery spacing suggesting strong intercalation of the nanoclay platelets by the epoxy matrix. Microstructural observations of the fracture surfaces and polished surfaces show significant differences in the matrix topology and fiber to matrix adhesion. The composites with higher nanoclay content depict uniform and submicron surface features implying homogenous dispersion of nanoclay. POLYM. COMPOS., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

长玻璃纤维增强PA66复合材料的综合性能及其影响因素研究

利用定制的熔融浸渍装置制备了长玻璃纤维增强聚酰胺66(PA66/LGF)复合材料,并对其力学性能、界面黏结性等进行了表征,探讨了玻璃纤维含量、润滑剂含量、相容剂含量以及切粒长度等因素对复合材料性能的影响,得到了PA66/LGF复合材料优化的配方设计与切粒长度.结果表明,当玻璃纤维含量为43％(质量分数,下同)、切粒长度...     

Short glass fiber reinforced ABS and ABS/PA6 composites: Processing and characterization

In this study acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene (ABS) terpolymer was reinforced with 3‐aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APS)‐treated short glass fibers (SGFs). The effects of SGF concentration and extrusion process conditions, such as the screw speed and barrel temperature profile, on the mechanical properties of the composites were examined. Increasing the SGF concentration in the ABS matrix from 10 wt% to 30 wt% resulted in improved tensile strength, tensile modulus and flexural modulus, but drastically lowered the strain‐at‐break and the impact strength. The average fiber length decreased when the concentration of glass fibers increased. The increase in screw speed decreased the average fiber length, and therefore the tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural modulus, and impact strength were affected negatively and the strain‐at‐break was affected positively. The increase in extrusion temperature decreased the fiber length degradation, and therefore the tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural modulus, and impact strength increased. At higher temperatures the ABS matrix degraded and the mechanical strength of the composites decreased. To obtain a strong interaction at the interface, polyamide‐6 (PA6) at varying concentrations was introduced into the ABS/30 wt% SGF composite. The incorporation and increasing amount of PA6 in the composites broadened the fiber length distribution (FLD) owing to the low melt viscosity of PA6. Tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural modulus, and impact strength values increased with an increase in the PA6 content of the ABS/PA6/SGF systems due to the improved adhesion at the interface, which was confirmed by the ratio of tensile strength to flexural strength as an adhesion parameter. These results were also supported by scanning electron micrographs of the ABS/PA6/SGF composites, which exhibited an improved adhesion between the SGFs and the ABS/PA6 matrix. POLYM. COMPOS. 26:745–755, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Thermotropic polyester amide-carbon fiber composites

Liquid crystal polymers (LCP) have been developed for the first time as a thermoplastic matrix for high-performance composites. A successful melt impregnation method has been developed that results in the production of continuous carbon fiber (CF)-reinforced LCP prepreg tape. Subsequent layup and molding of prepreg into laminates has yielded composites of good quality. Tensile and flexural properties of LCP-CF composites are comparable to those of epoxy-CF composites. LCP-CF composites have better impact resistance than the latter, although epoxy-CF composites possess superior compression and shear strength. LCP-CF composites have good property retention until 200°F (67% of room temperature value). Above 200°F, mechanical properties are found to decrease significantly. Experimental results indicate that the poor compression and shear strength may be due to the poor interfacial adhesion between the matrix and carbon fiber.     

Influence of the impregnating property on mechanical properties of commingled yarn composites

Three types of glass/nylon 6 intermediate material forms-film stacking, uncommingled yarn, and commingled yarm-were selected study the correlations between the impregnating property and mechanical properties. The size of the glass fiber block to be filled with matrix and the porosity in glass fiber bundles by spearing out the fiber bundle was different in these materials. Unidirectional glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites were fabricated by compression molding. The being test was performed by using the three-point loading system, and the fracture behavior and the degree of impregnation were observed to examine the influence of processing conditions on the bending properties, relative to the form of the intermediate material. Bending strength increased, in accordance with the impregnating property, least in the film stacking form, second most in uncommingled yarn, and most in commingled yarn. The impregnating property was affected by the size of fiber blocks and the porosity in fiber bundles, because bending strength was improved by spreading out the fiber bundles. Commingled yarn is an excellent intermediate materials, which has both the fineness of matrix/fiber mixing and large porosity in fiber bundles.     

Influence of thermo‐oxidative aging on the dynamical mechanical properties and thermal degradation kinetics of glass fiber‐reinforced PA10T composites

Unveiling the fundamental thermal‐oxidative aging mechanism and thermal degradation kinetics of the poly(decamethyleneterephthalamide) (PA10T)/ glass fiber (GF) composites under different aging temperatures (160°C, 200°C, and 240°C) for 0–50 days will facilitate the understanding of the interaction between matrix PA10T and GF. The results revealed that the decrease of mechanical properties referring to tensile strength, flexural strength and notched impact strength, and the occurrence of debonding phenomenon between PA10T matrix and GF were increasingly obvious after longer aging time at higher aging temperature. At the same time, the decline of crystalline was mainly ascribed to the thermal‐oxidative aging effect, which triggered the deterioration of mechanical properties of PA10T/GF composites. Accordingly, the enhancement of rigidity were probably attributed to the higher temperature aging effect with the aging time prolonging in PA10T/GF composites, while the interfacial debonding between GF and resin matrix obviously occurred with the increase of aging time. In a word, it is believed that investigating the fundamental thermal‐oxidative aging of PA10T/GF composites would be beneficial to optimize and control the service life and applications of materials. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:643–656, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Corn oil‐based composites reinforced with continuous glass fibers: Fabrication and properties

Novel thermosetting composites have been successfully developed using glass fibers to reinforce regular corn oil (COR) and conjugated corn oil (CCOR) resins prepared by cationic copolymerization with styrene (ST) and divinylbenzene (DVB). The dependence of morphology and physical properties of the composites on the contents of glass fibers and DVB was determined by scanning electron microscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and tensile testing. The glass fiber loading and polymer matrix composition play an important role in improving the mechanical properties and thermal stability of the resulting composites. As the glass fiber content increases from 0 to 45 wt %, the COR‐based composites show an increase in Young's modulus from 4.1 to 874 MPa and tensile strength from 1.7 to 8.4 MPa. Furthermore, the composites exhibit good damping properties and are suitable for applications where reduction of both unwanted noise and vibration is important. Compared with the composites from COR, the CCOR‐based composites exhibit slightly higher thermal stabilities and mechanical properties, due to higher reactivity of CCOR with comonomers. Increasing the DVB content improves the crosslink density of the polymer matrix, leading to a significant improvement in the thermal stabilities and mechanical properties of the resulting composites. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102:3345–3353, 2006     

Effect of impregnation time on performance of long glass fiber‐reinforced polypropylene composites

Long glass fiber (LGF)‐reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites were prepared using self‐designed impregnation device. Effects of impregnation time on mechanical properties, crystallization, dynamic mechanical properties, and morphology of PP/LGF composites were investigated. The experiment results demonstrate that the excellent tensile strength, Notched Izod impact strength was 152.9 MPa, 31.2 KJ/m², respectively, and the stiffness of PP/LGF composites was higher, when the impregnation time was 7.03 s. The excellent interfacial adhesion between PP and glass fiber indicates that PP/LGF composites possess the outstanding mechanical properties. The impregnation time scarcely influenced thermal properties of PP/LGF composites. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 24:174–178, 2018. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Effect of macromolecular coupling agent on the property of PP/GF composites

Silane‐grafted polypropylene manufactured by a reactive grafting process was used as the coupling agent in polypropylene/glass‐fiber composites to improve the interaction of the interfacial regions. Polypropylene reinforced with 30% by weight of short glass fibers was injection‐molded and the mechanical behaviors were investigated. The results indicate that the mechanical properties (tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, and Izod impact strength) of the composite increased remarkably as compared with the noncoupled glass fiber/polypropylene. SEM of the fracture surfaces of the coupled composites shows a good adhesion at the fiber/matrix interface: The fibers are coated with matrix polymer, and a matrix transition region exists near the fibers. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 71: 1537–1542, 1999     

Bio‐composites for structural applications: Poly‐l‐lactide reinforced with long sisal fiber bundles

Fully bio‐based and biodegradable composites were compression molded from unidirectionally aligned sisal fiber bundles and a polylactide polymer matrix (PLLA). Caustic soda treatment was employed to modify the strength of sisal fibers and to improve fiber to matrix adhesion. Mechanical properties of PLLA/sisal fiber composites improved with caustic soda treatment: the mean flexural strength and modulus increased from 279 MPa and 19.4 GPa respectively to 286 MPa and 22 GPa at a fiber volume fraction of V_f = 0.6. The glass transition temperature decreased with increasing fiber content in composites reinforced with untreated sisal fibers due to interfacial friction. The damping at the caustic soda‐treated fibers‐PLLA interface was reduced due to the presence of transcrystalline morphology at the fiber to matrix interface. It was demonstrated that high strength, high modulus sisal‐PLLA composites can be produced with effective stress transfer at well‐bonded fiber to matrix interfaces. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40999.     

Toughened epoxy resin matrix for a membrane shell by wet filament winding

A toughened epoxy resin matrix was obtained with a reactive toughening agent and methyl hexahydrophthalic anhydride as a curing agent. The mechanical properties of the modified epoxy resin and its glass‐fiber‐reinforced composites were investigated systematically. The modified epoxy resin matrix possessed many good properties, including a high flexural strength (138 MPa), high elongation at break (5.2%), low viscosity, long pot life at room temperature, and good water resistance. In addition, the glass‐fiber‐reinforced composites showed a high strength conversion ratio of the glass fiber (86.7%) and good fatigue resistance. The results demonstrated that the modified epoxy resin matrix is very suitable for applications in reverse osmosis membrane shell products fabricated with wet filament winding for water treatment. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009