Processing of Polymers and Composites

Lecture 18 – 04/03/2019

Dr S. Gowthaman
Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing Kancheepuram
Chennai - 600127
Fiber Volume and Weight Fraction of Composite

= (Weight fraction in terms of volume fraction)

(Volume fraction in terms of

= weight fraction)

Theoretically
possible, but
practically
impossible

Typical practical values:

Laminate Thickness
The thickness of a composite laminate depends on the amount of reinforcement and the relative amount
of resin which has been included.
Fiber Volume Fraction is thus Inversely
Proportional to Laminate Thickness.

Areal weight

Number
of layers
Prepregs A prepreg is a resin-impregnated fiber, fabric, or mat in flat form,
which is stored for later use in hand lay-up or molding operations.

Hot-Melt Process
Prepregs
Solution Dip Process • Solvent is used to create low-
viscosity resin into which the fibers
are dipped

• Solvent has environmental concern,

so relatively hot-melt technology is
better in this concern

• The drawback of hot-melt technology

is relatively poor fiber wetting
because of high viscosity resin

• Thermoset and thermoplastic

prepregs are possible
• Epoxy most common thermoset
resin used
• Nylon, PEEK, PPS – most
common thermoplastic resin
used
Prepregs
Preforms
Preforms are feedstock for the RTM and SRIM
processes, where a reinforcement in the form of
a thick two- or three-dimensional fiber
architecture is put in the mold cavity and then
resin is injected into the cavity to obtain the
composite part.

Braiding of fiberglass preform for an Braided carbon fiber duct preform for
airfoil application an aircraft application.

Braided preform after TRM

Chopped strand random preforms
• Roving is chopped and sprayed,
together with a binder onto a
perforated mold.

• By means of airflow through the

perforated mold, the fibers are kept in
place.

• After the spray-up, the preform is

heated to cure the binder.

• The advantage of this production lies

in the low-cost materials and the
complexity of the preforms that can be
made in this way.
Videos for Prepregs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9YM3sA0PQ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-zI9xbwxZY

Videos for Preforms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbYWd6NXAXk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfZpqX2tCd8
Sheet Molding Compound
SMC (sheet molding compound) is a sheet of ready-to-mold composites containing uncured
thermosetting resins and uniformly distributed short fibers and fillers.

• In general, they are used for

compression molding and
injection molding processes.

• During molding, suitable

temperature and pressure are
applied to spread the charge into
the cavity and then to cure it.
SMC Manufacturing

A polyester-based SMC requires 1 to

7 days of exposure at around 30°C
prior to use in compression molding.
This period is called the maturation
period, wherein resin viscosity
increases to a level satisfactory for its
use for the molding operation.

Maximum thickness of SMC is 6 mm

Types of SMC

• SMC-R contains randomly oriented short

fibers

• SMC-CR contains continuous (C)

unidirectional fibers in addition to random
(R) short fibers

• XMC represents a mixture of random short

fibers with continuous fibers in an X pattern.
Thick Molding Compound (TMC) Bulk Molding Compound (BMC)
• Thick molding compound (TMC) is a thicker form • BMC is obtained by mixing the resin paste with fibers
of SMC. The thickness of TMC goes up to 50 mm. and then extruding the compound in log or rope form.

• TMC eliminates having to use several SMC plies. • The extruded part is cut to length, depending on the
Due to its greater thickness, TMC provides requirement.
reduced pliability. • BMC generally contains 15 to 20% fiber in a polyester or
vinylester resin.
• The fiber length ranges from 6 to 12 mm.
• Due to the lower fiber volume fraction and shorter fiber
length, BMC composites provide lower mechanical
properties than SMC composites.
Honeycomb and Other Core Materials
• These materials are generally used for
sandwich structures as cores between
two thin high-strength facings.
• The honeycomb material acts like a web
of I-beams, taking the shear loads as
well as providing structural rigidity by
keeping high-strength materials away
from the neutral axis where tensile and
compressive stresses are high.

Aluminium Aramid (Dupont Nomex) Thermoplastic

Honeycomb and Other Core Materials
 Unidirectional – longitudinal properties
Properties of composites

Unidirectional – transverse properties

Prepreg lay-up process (autoclave processing or vacuum bagging process)
• Prepregs are cut, laid down in the desired fiber orientation on a tool, and then vacuum bagged.
• After vacuum bagging, the composite with the mold is put inside an oven or autoclave and then heat and
pressure are applied for curing and consolidation of the part.
• Wing structures, radomes, yacht parts, and sporting goods

Main landing gear door

Aircraft radomes Glass/epoxy/honeycomb sandwich fairings
Prepreg lay-up process
Raw Materials

• Carbon/epoxy is much lighter and stronger than other prepreg materials (a comparative cost) and provides greater
mass savings in the component – hence carbon fiber prepreg is widely used, particularly for aircraft structures.
• Other than epoxy, high-temperature resins such as polyimides, polycyanate, and BMI are also used in prepreg
systems.

Tooling
 Prepreg lay-up process
Making of the part

• Apply release film on top of the prepregs. The release film is a perforated film that allows entrapped air, excess resins, and
volatiles to escape.
• Apply bleeder, a porous fabric, on top of the release film. The function of the bleeder is to absorb moisture and excess
resin coming from the stack of prepregs.
• Apply barrier film on top of the bleeder. The film is similar to release film except that it is not perforated or porous.
• Apply breather layer, a porous fabric similar to the bleeder. The function of the breather is to create even pressure around
the part and at the same time allowing air and volatiles to escape.
• The final layer is a vacuum bag. It is an expendable polyamide (PA) film or reusable elastomer. nozzle is inserted into the
vacuum bag and connected to a vacuum hose for creating vacuum inside the bag.
Prepreg lay-up process The peel ply creates a good
bondable surface on the fabricated
Making of the part part.
Prepreg lay-up process Typical curing cycle

Methods of Applying Heat and Pressure

Vacuum bagged
aerospace part
ready to go
inside an
autoclave.
Prepreg lay-up process
Basic Processing Steps
1. The prepreg is removed from the refrigerator and is kept at room temperature for thawing.
2. The prepreg is laid on the cutting table and cut to the desired size and orientation.
3. The mold is cleaned and then release agent is applied to the mold surface.
4. Backing paper from the prepreg is removed and the prepreg is laid on the mold surface in the
sequence mentioned in the manufacturing chart.
5. Entrapped air between prepreg sheets is removed using a squeezing roller after applying each
prepreg sheet.
6. After applying all the prepreg sheets, vacuum bagging arrangements are made by applying
release film, bleeder, barrier film, breather, and bagging materials.
7. The entire assembly is then placed into the autoclave using a trolley if the structure is large.
8. Connections to thermocouples and vacuum hoses are made and the autoclave door is closed.
9. The cure cycle data are entered into a computer-controlled machine and followed.
10. After cooling, the vacuum bag is removed and the part is taken out.
Prepreg lay-up process
Advantages of the Prepreg Lay-Up Process

• The prepreg lay-up process is very common in the aerospace industry and offers the following
advantages:
• It allows production of high fiber volume fraction (more than 60%) composite parts because of the
use of prepregs. Prepregs usually have more than 60% fiber volume fraction.
• Simple to complex parts can be easily manufactured using this process.
• This process is very suitable for making prototype parts. It has the advantage of low tooling cost but
the process requires high capital investment for the autoclave.
• Very strong and stiff parts can be fabricated using this process.

Limitations of the Prepreg Lay-Up Process

Although prepreg lay-up is a mature process, it has the following limitations:

• It is very labor intensive and is not suitable for high-volume production applications.
• The parts produced by the prepreg lay-up process are expensive.
Prepreg lay-up process

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wy8L6PHAkU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNWZmfJBm_M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jSwx_EkJgM