Abstract / Description of output
Glass-fibre/Polyamide-6 (GF/PA-6) composite laminates were manufactured using a bespoke, lowcost thermoplastic resin transfer molding (T-RTM) system. Instead of injecting melted fully prepolymerized PA-6, monomer precursor materials with viscosities ~10mPa.s were injected into a glassfibre fabric contained between heated platens of a press and polymerisation occurred in-situ within several minutes. Due to the extremely low viscosity of the monomer, composites with fibre volume fractions ~53% with excellent wet-out were produced at a pressure of approximately 4 bar, negating the need for expensive high pressure injection. In this study, the interfacial adhesion of the composite was further improved by using specialized fibre sizings containing one of the chemical reactants such that polymer growth was initiated from the fibre surface. The improved interfacial adhesion resulted in a significant increase in both strength and modulus of the composites in flexure. Fracture surfaces of the
failed flexural samples were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which showed clear signs of improved fibre-matrix interfacial bonding. The void distribution in the laminates was studied using computerised tomography (CT) scans while the fibre volume fraction was determined using burnoff.
failed flexural samples were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which showed clear signs of improved fibre-matrix interfacial bonding. The void distribution in the laminates was studied using computerised tomography (CT) scans while the fibre volume fraction was determined using burnoff.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Composite Materials |
Publisher | RMIT University |
Number of pages | 10 |
Publication status | Published - 16 Aug 2019 |
Event | 22nd International Conference on Composite Materials, ICCM 2019 - Melbourne, Australia Duration: 11 Aug 2019 → 16 Aug 2019 |
Conference
Conference | 22nd International Conference on Composite Materials, ICCM 2019 |
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Country/Territory | Australia |
City | Melbourne |
Period | 11/08/19 → 16/08/19 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- In-situ
- Polyamide
- Reactive
- Thermoplastic
- TP-RTM