Jeong Euichul, Kim Yongdae, Hong Seokkwan, Yoon Kyunghwan, Lee Sunghee
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dankook University, Yongin 16890, Korea.
Department of Molding & Metal Forming R&D, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Bucheon 14441, Korea.
Polymers (Basel). 2022 Apr 13;14(8):1577. doi: 10.3390/polym14081577.
Woven fabric reinforced thermoplastic composites have been gaining significant attention as a lightweight alternative to metal in various industrial fields owing to their high stiffness and strength. Conventional manufacturing processes of woven fabric reinforced thermoplastic composites can be divided into two steps: first, the manufacturing of intermediate material, known as prepreg; then, the formation of the final products from the prepregs. This two-step process increases the manufacturing cost and time of the final composite products. This study demonstrated that woven fabric reinforced thermoplastic composites could be fabricated by an innovative injection molding process instead of the two-step process. A structure placing an extra mesh, which is a new and key component, on the mold-side of woven fabric was devised so that the thermoplastic matrix could be impregnated up to the surface of the woven fabric during injection molding. Tensile tests were performed in the direction parallel to the yarns of the fabric on the injection-molded composites to confirm their mechanical properties. As a result, it was possible to fabricate woven fabric reinforced thermoplastic composites with increased mechanical properties using injection molding without prepreg, and the composites could be molded with a much shorter cycle time than the conventional process, such as thermoforming or over-molding process.
由于具有高刚度和强度，机织织物增强热塑性复合材料作为金属在各种工业领域的轻质替代品，正受到广泛关注。机织织物增强热塑性复合材料的传统制造工艺可分为两个步骤：首先，制造称为预浸料的中间材料；然后，由预浸料形成最终产品。这种两步法增加了最终复合材料产品的制造成本和时间。本研究表明，机织织物增强热塑性复合材料可以通过创新的注塑工艺制造，而不是两步法。设计了一种在织物模具侧放置额外网眼的结构，这是一个新的关键部件，以便在注塑过程中热塑性基体能够浸渍到织物表面。对注塑复合材料在平行于织物纱线的方向上进行拉伸试验，以确认其机械性能。结果表明，使用无预浸料的注塑工艺可以制造出机械性能增强的机织织物增强热塑性复合材料，并且与热成型或包覆成型等传统工艺相比，该复合材料的成型周期要短得多。
