An experimental study of the water-assisted injection molding of glass fiber filled poly-butylene-terephthalate (PBT) composites

The purpose of this report was to experimentally study the water-assisted injection molding process of poly-butylene-terephthalate (PBT) composites. Experiments were carried out on an 80-ton injection-molding machine equipped with a lab scale water injection system, which included a water pump, a pressure accumulator, a water injection pin, a water tank equipped with a temperature regulator, and a control circuit. The materials included virgin PBT and a 15% glass fiber filled PBT composite, and a plate cavity with a rib across center was used. Various processing variables were examined in terms of their influence on the length of water penetration in molded parts, and mechanical property tests were performed on these parts. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was also used to identify the material and structural parameters. Finally, a comparison was made between water-assisted and gas-assisted injection molded parts. It was found that the melt fill pressure, melt temperature, and short shot size were the dominant parameters affecting water penetration behavior. Material at the mold-side exhibited a higher degree of crystallinity than that at the water-side. Parts molded by gas also showed a higher degree of crystallinity than those molded by water. Furthermore, the glass fibers near the surface of molded parts were found to be oriented mostly in the flow direction, but oriented substantially more perpendicular to the flow direction with increasing distance from the skin surface.     

Response to polyetherimide based composite materials implanted in muscle and in bone

The in-vivo response to a composite material obtained with polyetherimide (PEI) reinforced with carbon/glass fibers was investigated by histological methods by implanting cylinders in muscle and in bone of the New Zealand White rabbit. A common metallic alloy, widely used in orthopaedic surgery, was used as control (Stellite). The aim of the study was to analyze the biological response towards the surface of the material. Composite implants and metallic implants did not induce adverse or inflammatory reactions. The morphological picture produced was similar, in muscle and in bone, for both materials. In muscle, cylinders were confined by an extremely thin fibrous layer and the overall appearance of the muscular tissue was normal. In bone, cylinders were confined by a nearly annular rim of newly formed bone. From these data it is possible to derive that the response to PEI-based composite material is comparable with the response to metallic substrate and, then, the material can be suitable for clinical application. ©1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers     

Hydroxyapatite nanorod-reinforced biodegradable poly(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-lactic acid) composites for bone plate applications

Novel PLLA composite fibers containing hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanorods with or without surface lactic acid grafting were produced by extrusion for use as reinforcements in PLLA-based bone plates. Fibers containing 0–50% (w/w) HAp nanorods, aligned parallel to fiber axis, were extruded. Lactic acid surface grafting of HAp nanorods (lacHAp) improved the tensile properties of composites fibers better than the non-grafted ones (nHAp). Best tensile modulus values of 2.59, 2.49, and 4.12 GPa were obtained for loadings (w/w) with 30% lacHAp, 10% nHAp, and 50% amorphous HAp nanoparticles, respectively. Bone plates reinforced with parallel rows of these composite fibers were molded by melt pressing. The best compressive properties for plates were obtained with nHAp reinforcement (1.31 GPa Young’s Modulus, 110.3 MPa compressive strength). In vitro testing with osteoblasts showed good cellular attachment and spreading on composite fibers. In situ degradation tests revealed faster degradation rates with increasing HAp content. To our knowledge, this is the first study containing calcium phosphate–polymer nanocomposite fibers for reinforcement of a biodegradable bone plate or other such implants and this biomimetic design was concluded to have potential for production of polymer-based biodegradable bone plates even for load bearing applications.     

The characterization of low cost fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites produced by the DRIFT™ process

A new, low cost process for hot-melt impregnation of continuous reinforcing fibers with thermoplastic polymers is described. This technique can be used to fabricate various product forms including discontinuous, long-fiber products for compression molded parts, continuous fiber products for pultrusion, filament winding, and woven fabric applications. Mechanical data are presented for composites with various fiber and polymer combinations. Effects of fiber orientation and length on mechanical properties are discussed, and the effect of fiber–polymer bonding on impact strength and microstructure are shown. It is shown that the low cost and high performance achieved with this approach has the potential to expand applications of thermoplastic composite materials.     

Interface Engineering of Carbon‐Fiber Reinforced Mg–Al Alloys

Metal matrix composites of the system C‐fiber/Mg‐matrix enable the outstanding combination of the high strength and elastic modulus of carbon fibers and the low density of both the carbon fiber and the magnesium matrix in structural metallic materials. However, the efficiency of the fiber reinforcement depends mainly on the characteristics of the fiber/matrix interlayers. Optimized materials can be achieved only by an appropriate interface design. The interfacial bonding can be adjusted by modifications of both the matrix composition and the fiber surface. Two strategies are reviewed in this paper: Firstly, to control the fiber/matrix reactivity by appropriate chemical and structural properties of the partners. Secondly, to coat the carbon fibers with a suitable material prior to the composite fabrication.     

Influence of flow restriction on the microstructure and mechanical properties of long glass fiber-reinforced polyamide 6.6 composites for automotive applications

In this study, polyamide 6.6 with 40 wt% of long glass fibers was processed by injection molding into a mold with the ability to simulate controlled flow restriction. The mechanical properties of the molded test specimens were evaluated to verify the application of the composites as substitutes for metallic materials in automotive applications and the influence of flow restriction on these properties. Mathematical models were used to calculate the tensile strength of the composites in order to validate the experimental results. It was found that the presence of the controlled flow restriction affects fiber length as well fiber orientation, both of which influence the final mechanical properties of the composite. Moreover, a high degree of anisotropy in the mechanical properties was observed.     

Fabrication and mechanical properties of PLLA/PCL/HA composites via a biomimetic, dip coating, and hot compression procedure

Currently, the bone-repair biomaterials market is dominated by high modulus metals and their alloys. The problem of stress-shielding, which results from elastic modulus mismatch between these metallic materials and natural bone, has stimulated increasing research into the development of polymer-ceramic composite materials that can more closely match the modulus of bone. In this study, we prepared poly(l-lactic acid)/hydroxyapatite/poly(ε-caprolactone) (PLLA/HA/PCL) composites via a four-step process, which includes surface etching of the fiber, the deposition of the HA coating onto the PLLA fibers through immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF), PCL coating through a dip-coating process, and hot compression molding. The initial HA-coated PLLA fiber had a homogeneous and continuous coating with a gradient structure. The effects of HA: PCL ratio and molding temperature on flexural mechanical properties were studied and both were shown to be important to mechanical properties. Mechanical results showed that at low molding temperatures and up to an HA: PCL volume ratio of 1, the flexural strain decreased while the flexural modulus and strength increased. At higher mold temperatures with a lower viscosity of the PCL a HA: PCL ratio of 1.6 gave similar properties. The process successfully produced composites with flexural moduli near the lower range of bone. Such composites may have clinical use for load bearing bone fixation.     

GMT流动成型纤维取向研究

GMT材料流动成型后玻纤在平面内发生取向，导致模压件呈各向异性，本研究从成型后制品上取样烧尽树脂，由扫描仪获取纤维数值图像，用Photoshop软件将图像反相，增强，再利用MATLAB软件确定纤维取向分布，研究表明，GMT单向流动成型时纤维沿流动方向取向，随流动距离增大，取向趋向更为明显，而均匀双向拉伸流动纤维取向程度较小，与片材相比，材料力学性能沿取向方向增大，但垂直取向方向材料性能变差。     

SiCP混杂对C/Al浸渍成型复合材料性能的影响

碳纤维经混杂SiC_P后用压力浸渍成型方法制备成C/Al复合材料,分析混杂的SiC_P对C/Al复合材料力学性能的影响。测试了制备成的复合材料性能,并用SEM对复合材料断面组织与断口形态进行分析。结果表明,混杂的SiC_P可以分隔纤维,有利浸渍,使纤维分布均匀从而提高了复合材料的性能,而用sol-gel方法涂复SiC层并混杂SiC_P可获得最佳的性能。     

Innovative approach to mass production of fiber metal laminate sheets

Although, lightweight composite structures like sandwich panels and fiber metal laminates (FMLs) are greatly used as a superior material to produce modern structures to provide a substitutive item for monolithic metallic parts, but still there are some challenges in their forming process. There are some inherent limitations for forming FML parts. Also, because the strain of the fibers is limited, conventional approaches are not appropriate for forming complex-shaped laminate parts. Understanding the material behavior during the forming process is critical to find a new technique for relatively intricate and smaller FML parts. To understand the material behavior to present a new forming method, the finite element software and experiments are utilized and the thinning of layer thickness, stress distributions in different layers, and the fiber orientation are studied. Blanks made of intermittent glass fabric/fibers and Al 2024-O alloy sheets. The behavior of the material was appraised utilizing ABAQUS according to Hill yield criteria and then evaluated with the empirical outcomes. Results exhibited that FML parts manufactured by utilizing multilayer hydroforming can enhance the FML applications.     

Influence of injection molding on the flexural strength and surface quality of long glass fiber-reinforced polyamide 6.6 composites

The objective of this paper was to process a polyamide 6.6 composite reinforced with long glass fibers (50 wt.%) using a design of experiments to determine the processing conditions that simultaneously maximize the flexural strength and the surface quality of the molded composite. The analyzed factors were the barrel temperature profile, the injection speed and the screw speed. To maximize the flexural strength response variable and the surface quality, all studied parameters should be maintained at the higher levels. The analysis of microstructure of composites molded demonstrates that this combination of parameters promotes a greater orientation of the fibers in the outer layers, as well as prevents the migration of glass fiber to surface of the composite. This kind of microstructure is favorable to a better surface quality, and a greater flexural strength.     

Optimal design of customised hip prosthesis using fiber reinforced polymer composites

The need for new materials in orthopaedic surgery arises from the recognition of the stress-shielding effect of bone by high-modulus implants presently made of engineering alloys. A lower modulus implant material will result in the construction of a more biomechanically compatible prosthesis. In this respect, composite materials are gaining importance because they offer the potential for implants with tailor-made stiffness in contrast to metals. In the present study, the bending stiffness of composite prosthesis is matched with that of bone in both the longitudinal and radial directions by choosing optimal carbon fiber reinforced polyether ether ketone (PEEK) matrix lay-up. A numerical optimization algorithm is developed to deduce the optimal composite femoral prosthesis lay-up that matches the stiffness properties of the femoral bone in both the transverse and longitudinal directions. Effective bending moments and compressive forces acting on the hip joint are considered in the design of the optimal length and diameter of the prosthesis. The optimization algorithm was implemented, by using MATLAB(R)™ for designing the composite prosthesis to a patient’s specific requirement. Finally the efficiency of the composite stem is compared with that of metallic alloy stems in terms of stress shielding using a finite element program.     

Fiber Reinforcement in Injection Molded Nylon 6/6 Spur Gears

Injection molded polymer composite gears are being used in many power and or motion transmission applications. In order to widen the utilization of reinforced polymers for precision motion transmission and noise less applications, the accuracy of molded gears should be increased. Since the injection molded gear accuracy is significantly influenced by the material shrinkage behaviour, there is a need to understand the influence of fiber orientation and gate location on part shrinkage behaviour and hence the gear accuracy. Unreinforced and 20% short glass fiber reinforced Nylon 6/6 spur gears were injection molded in the laboratory and computer aided simulations of gear manufacturing was also carried out. Results of the mold flow simulation of gear manufacturing were correlated with the actual fiber orientation and measured major geometrical parameters of the molded gears. Actual orientation of the fibers near the tooth profile, weld line region and injection points of molded gears were observed using optical microscope and correlated with predicted fiber orientation.     

聚吡咯/聚酯纤维复合材料吸波性能的探讨

聚吡咯是含有π电子共扼体系的高聚物,经掺杂反应电导率发生变化,当其电导率处于半导体状态时,具有良好的吸波性能.本文采用原位聚合法以聚酯纤维为基布,以吡咯为单体,制备具有良好吸波性能的柔性聚吡咯/聚酯纤维复合材料.首先探讨了吡咯浓度,温度,时间对复合材料吸波性能和表面电阻的影响;其次研究了其外观形貌和强力.结果表明:制备的聚吡咯复合材料具有良好的吸波性能;在0~106Hz频率内,吡咯浓度0.8 mol/L实验组,介电常数的实部、虚部均最大;1.0 mol/L实验组的损耗角正切最大;吡咯浓度0.8 mol/L实验组表面电阻最小;室温实验组的介电常数实部、虚部、损耗角正切最大,且明显优于其他组.反应时间150 min实验组的各项介电性能都明显优于其他组,且其电阻最小,导电率最好.     

Design methodology for the molding of short-fiber thermoset composites

The thermoelastic properties of a molded component are a strong function of the fiber orientation, which in turn is governed by the mold geometry and the processing parameters. A methodology is presented to relate mold geometry and the molding parameters to the desired thermoelastic properties of a molded section. Such a methodology enables the designer to satisfy stiffness constraints by controlling the microstructure through the selection of appropriate process conditions and rheological properties of the molding compound. The fluid flow is modelled as a laminate of two Newtonian fluids, and a non-isothermal constitutive relationship for thermoset molding compounds is proposed as the dominant mechanisms governing the thickness of the surface layer of aligned fibers. As a consequence of the resulting laminated microstructure, the inplane and flexural properties are not equivalent.     

Surface modification of fiber reinforced polymer composites and their attachment to bone simulating material

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of fiber orientation of a fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) made of poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA) and E-glass to the surface fabrication process by solvent dissolution. Intention of the dissolution process was to expose the fibers and create a macroporous surface onto the FRC to enhance bone bonding of the material. The effect of dissolution and fiber direction to the bone bonding capability of the FRC material was also tested. Three groups of FRC specimens (n = 18/group) were made of PMMA and E-glass fiber reinforcement: (a) group with continuous fibers parallel to the surface of the specimen, (b) continuous fibers oriented perpendicularly to the surface, (c) randomly oriented short (discontinuous) fibers. Fourth specimen group (n = 18) made of plain PMMA served as controls. The specimens were subjected to a solvent treatment by tetrahydrofuran (THF) of either 5, 15 or 30 min of time (n = 6/time point), and the advancement of the dissolution (front) was measured. The solvent treatment also exposed the fibers and created a surface roughness on to the specimens. The solvent treated specimens were embedded into plaster of Paris to simulate bone bonding by mechanical locking and a pull-out test was undertaken to determine the strength of the attachment. All the FRC specimens dissolved as function of time, as the control group showed no marked dissolution during the study period. The specimens with fibers along the direction of long axis of specimen began to dissolve significantly faster than specimens in other groups, but the test specimens with randomly oriented short fibers showed the greatest depth of dissolution after 30 min. The pull-out test showed that the PMMA specimens with fibers were retained better by the plaster of Paris than specimens without fibers. However, direction of the fibers considerably influenced the force of attachment. The fiber reinforcement increases significantly the dissolution speed, and the orientation of the glass fibers has great effect on the dissolving depth of the polymer matrix of the composite, and thus on the exposure of fibers. The glass fibers exposed by the solvent treatment enhanced effectively the attachment of the specimen to the bone modeling material.     

玻璃纤维/聚丙烯复合材料层合板拉深成型性

为研究纤维增强树脂复合材料零部件快速成型,加速复合材料零部件大规模产业化量产,以玻璃纤维/聚丙烯复合材料层合板为实验对象,首先利用设计加工的拉深成型模具,进行了玻璃纤维增强热塑性树脂复合材料（Glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic resin composite,GFRTP）板材外表面纤维方向和模具长轴方向为0°和90°的试件在不同温度和不同拉深深度条件下的深拉深成型实验,将成型件制备金相试件在光学显微镜下进行微观组织观察,并对试件的成型情况和不同拉深力-行程曲线进行分析。其后进行了GFRTP板材外表面纤维方向和模具长轴方向为0°、45°和90°的试件的不同温度下的浅拉深成型实验,并对成型后的试验件进行了室温条件下的拉伸性能测试,对其拉伸失效情况及具体力学性能进行了对比分析。试验结果表明,在室温25℃到基体树脂的熔融温度165℃之间,随着温度的升高,板材的极限拉深深度增大,最大拉深力呈下降趋势。在选取的试验温度范围内,85℃时试件成型性能较好且0°试件优于90°试件,温度对拉深成型试件的皱曲改善不明显。浅拉深成型试件拉伸力学特性受试件铺层纤维方向的影响较大,防止皱曲等缺陷的发生对GFRTP板材拉深成型十分重要。     

碳纤维在电子束辐射过程中对树脂基复合材料界面性能的影响

采用XPS和Raman分析了电子束辐射对碳纤维表面性质的影响，研究了碳纤维与基体树脂之间的不充分接触对电子束固化复合材料层间剪切强度的影响，同时分析了碳纤维表面吸附的水分，碳纤维与基体树脂之间的空隙率和碳纤维表面在碳酸氢铵电解液中进行阳极氧化处理后对电子束固化复合材料界面性能的影响，分析了碳纤维表面在电子束辐射过程中与树脂基体的作用机理。     

Dynamic buckling of metal matrix composite plates and shells under cylindrical bending

A micro-to-macro analysis is offered to investigate the dynamic response and buckling of metal matrix composite cylindrical shells and plates under cylindrical bending. The micromechanical analysis relies on the elastic fibers and inelastic matrix material properties, and provides the bulk behavior of the metal matrix composite at room and elevated temperatures. The macromechanical analysis employs the classical and higher order plate theories in conjunction with a spatial finite difference and temporal Runge-Kutta integrations to provide the dynamic response of the structure. The effects of the metallic matrix inelasticity, material rate sensitivity, shear deformation, fiber orientation, and initial geometrical imperfection on the behavior of the metal matrix composite structures are studied.