All-poly(ethylene terephthalate) composites by film stacking of oriented tapes

Self-reinforced polymer or all-polymer composites have been developed to replace traditional fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) with good interfacial adhesion and enhanced recyclability. Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is one of the most attractive polymers to be used in these fully recyclable all-polymer composites, in terms of cost and properties. In this work, all-PET composites were prepared by film stacking of oriented PET tapes. A processing temperature window was determined by a series of tests on PET tapes and co-PET films, including DSC and T-peel tests. Tensile properties of PET tape, co-PET film and all-PET composites are reported and compared with a commercial co-extruded PURE^® polypropylene tape. The effect of compaction temperatures and pressures on tensile properties of all-PET composites was investigated to explore the optimum processing parameters for balancing good interfacial adhesion between tapes and residual tensile properties of PET tapes.     

Observations of preferred orientation in high-Tc oxide superconductor tapes

Thin tapes of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ superconductor have been tape cast by the doctor blade technique. X-ray diffraction studies showed that the (00l) planes of these tapes, to a modest degree, became preferentially aligned parallel to surface of the tape. This modest degree of preferential alignment resulted in a significant increase in measured critical current density.     

On the green density, sintering behavior and electrical property of tape cast Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95 electrolyte films

Gadolinia doped ceria (Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_1.95, GDC) electrolyte films were tape cast from oxalate coprecipitated GDC powders, gelcast GDC powders and their mixtures, respectively, to evaluate the effects of the original particle size and distribution on the properties of the green and sintered GDC cast tapes. The apparent density of different original powders, as well as the green density, sintered behavior, and electrical conductivity of tapes cast from the various starting powders were investigated. Mixing the coprecipitated and the gelcast GDC powders not only results in a higher packing efficiency of particles in the loose powders, but also results in higher green and sintered densities of cast tapes. Furthermore, tapes cast from the 50/50 powder mixtures can be sintered to 96.2% of theoretical density at relatively low sintering temperature of 1400°C, whereas those from the oxalate coprecipitated and from the gelcast powders were only 89.7 and 94.1% dense, respectively. The ac impedance measurement shows that GDC films cast from the 50/50 powder mixture exhibit good electrical conductivity (4.2 and 6.0 S m⁻¹ at 700 and 800°C in air, respectively). The test results have revealed that high-density GDC films can be fabricated by tape casting technique at relatively low sintering temperature by optimizing the particle size distribution of the starting powders.     

Development of Bi(2223) Multifilamentary Tapes with Low ac Losses

A significant reduction of ac losses in twisted Bi(2223) multifilamentary tapes with Ag sheaths has been achieved by using oxide (BaZrO₃ and SrZrO₃) barriers between filaments. These barriers have two important effects: they increase the transverse resistivity, which suppresses induced coupling currents, and they reduce filament bridging, which in pure Ag sheath tapes largely cancels the beneficial effect of filament twisting. The decoupling can be gauged by the frequency at which loss shows a maximum in a low-amplitude ac field applied perpendicular to the tape. So far, the frequency of the loss maximum, f _m, in Ag-sheathed tapes has been enhanced from 5 Hz (untwisted) to 82 Hz (11 mm in twist pitch length). Different ways to introduce oxide barriers in tapes with 19–95 filaments are presented. The critical current density in the filaments varied between 10,000 and 20,000 A/cm². Ac loss measurements as well as the electrical and mechanical characterization are discussed in detail. The variation of the critical current density with bending strain is shown to be similar to that of tapes without barriers.     

Characteristics of CF/PEI tape winding process with on-line consolidation

The effects of processing conditions on consolidation quality for the tape winding process of thermoplastic composites with on-line consolidation have been investigated. Composite rings were manufactured using carbon fibre (CF)/polyetherimide (PEI) tape for both cases with and without an insulated ring. Based on heat transfer and intimate contact/autohesion mechanisms, a steady-state finite element method (FEM) model was developed to analyze consolidation quality and overheating in composite tapes. The processing windows with the upper bound for good consolidation and the lower bound for overheating were established for winding speed as a function of processing temperature, when the compaction pressure was kept constant. Good correlation was obtained between the steady-state FEM model and experimental data.     

Effect of substrate thickness on interfacial adhesive strength and thermal residual stress of second-generation high-temperature superconducting tape using peel test modeling

Second-generation high-temperature superconducting (2G HTS) tape is used in magnets and cables because of its outstanding electromagnetic characteristics. However, with the development of winding technology, thinner tapes are required in the construction of magnets. The effect of using thinner substrates on the resulting mechanical and electrical properties of 2G HTS tapes must thus be urgently understood. The interfacial adhesive strength is an important index used to characterize the mechanical strength of 2G HTS tape. Previous experimental studies have shown that thermal stress is one of the major factors in the delamination of the component tape used for magnet winding or cable assembly. In this study, the effect of substrate thickness on the interfacial adhesive strength of 2G HTS tape was investigated using peel test modeling. The thermal residual stresses accumulated during tape synthesis and caused by altered temperature during tape preparation and application at 77 K were also considered. To address the geometrical, physical, and boundary nonlinear problem, the finite element method was used. The simulation results indicate that interfacial stress caused by thermal shrinkage may separate the tape near the superconductor layer at the outer edge; however, no significant effect was observed for the central part. When the thermal residual stress was considered, the peel strength was reduced by approximately 20%. The substrate thickness also played an important role in the magnitude of thermal residual stress, which resulted in an increase of the peel strength with decreasing substrate thickness.     

Dispersion and tape casting of silicon carbide through aqueous route

Dispersion behaviour of SiC in aqueous media was studied using four different dispersants and as a function of pH. The slurry was characterized in each case by sedimentation, viscosity and rheological studies. The best dispersant was selected and its optimum amount was determined. For this system, the pH was varied over a range of 2–11. The slurry displayed the minimum viscosity as well as near-Newtonian behavior at pH range 8–11. SiC tapes were obtained by Double doctor blade tape-casting process, with polyvinyl alcohol as binder and PEG and BBP as plastisizers. The stability of the tape casting slurry was determined by rheological characteristics. As-cast tapes were dried in air at room temperature. The results show that it is possible to obtain homogenous defect-free green tapes of 57.7% solid loading and 53% green density with smooth surface using the optimized tape casting slurry.     

Low velocity impact performance of recyclable all-polypropylene composites

Highly oriented polypropylene (PP) tapes, with high tensile strength and stiffness achieved by molecular orientation during solid state drawing are consolidated to create high performance recyclable “all-polypropylene” (all-PP) composites. These composites possess a large temperature processing window (>30 °C) and a high volume fraction of highly oriented PP (>90%). This large processing window is achieved by using co-extruded, highly drawn PP tapes. This paper investigates the impact resistance of these all-PP composites, and the relationship between penetrative and non-penetrative impact behaviour, and composite consolidation conditions. The response of all-PP composites to falling weight impact is reported together with a comparison to conventional commercial glass reinforced polypropylene composites. A model for energy absorption is proposed by comparison with previous studies based on interfacial and tensile failure of tapes and composites.     

The hot compaction of polyethylene terephthalate

A process is described for the successful compaction of polyethylene terephthalate fibres. The measurement of mechanical properties shows that a very high proportion of the original fibre properties are retained and that the compacted samples have a good degree of coherence. Electron microscopy studies of suitably etched samples reveals the effect of the compaction temperature on the structure of the compacted samples.     

Development of Bi-2223 HTS tape and its application to coil and current leads

We are developing Bi-2223/Ag tapes with a high engineering critical current density by optimizing the powder-in-tube process and are studying its application to coil and current leads. We have fabricated 250 m-long tape and investigated optimized processing conditions to enhance engineering critical current density. More bubbling was found when the tape was heat-treated with a higher heating rate. Different kinds of superconducting joints were fabricated with multi-filamentary Bi-2223/Ag tapes, and 58% of retained I_c was achieved using the insertion of Bi-2223 core between two exposed tapes. Current decay property of the persistent mode HTS coil was investigated. Rapid current decay was observed when the operating current is in a flux-flow range. We could successfully fabricate a low heat leak type HTS current lead with Bi-2223/Ag–Au tapes by employing a stepped geometry. Using this lead, safe operation of 2 kA current transport was confirmed.     

Nb3Al AND Nb3(Al,Ge) SUPERCONDUCTING TAPES BY LASER BEAM ANNEALING

Nb₃Al AND Nb₃(Al,Ge) tapes with excellent superconducting properties have been fabricated using high energy density laser beam irradiation, irradiations were carried out continuously on Nb-25at%AI and Nb-20at%Al -5at%Ge tapes prepared by powder metallurgical processing. With the high power density and short irradiation time, the tape could be heated and cooled much faster than a tape heat treated by conventional methods. The results were fine structure and large critical current density J_c values at high magnetic fields. J_c at 23 Tesla was over 10⁴ A/cm². This value was much greater than that obtained from a commercial Nb₃Sn superconductor. New continuous irradiation systems have been developed for scale-up development. Nb₃Al tapes 10 m in length were successfully fabricated. There was some scatter in J_c along the tape length. Small coil tests in magnetic fields indicated that the tape had excellent stability against a flux jump and mechanical strain.     

Effect of magnetic field, thermal cycling and bending strain on critical current density of multifilamentary Bi-2223/Ag tape and fabrication of a pancake coil

Multifilamentary HTSC tapes are important for their applications in various electrical devices. Powder-in-tube technique with improved optimized synthesis parameters is regarded as one of the most promising ways to prepare long-length multifilamentary Bi-2223/Ag tapes. Nevertheless, usefulness of such tapes depends on their electrical and mechanical properties. Critical current density of a Bi-2223/Ag tape with 37 filaments has been studied at 77 K with field, field orientation, thermal cycling and bending strain as parameters. Results have been discussed in light of various mechanisms and models. A small pancake coil has been fabricated out of the same tape and the test results presented.     

Study on cross section of high temperature superconducting coil

It is in particular of importance for HTS coils to secure a larger central magnetic field and/or a large stored energy with shorter length of HTS tapes. The critical current of an HTS tape depends on both the flux density and the flux angle against tapes. From this point, the performance improvement of HTS coils is taken into account with an analytical model. The minimum volume coil derived from the Fabry Factor constant curve is taken concerning the original coil shape, which is often employed in low temperature superconducting coils. The coil critical current was analyzed in consideration of the anisotropic properties of the tape.The electric field of HTS tapes in the coil was calculated at the coil critical current and the high electric field portion were cut out. The optimal coil cross section is obtained by iterating this calculation process. As a result, the critical current and the stored energy density of the coil were improved. The stored energy density increased about 17% and the central magnetic field was almost kept constant regardless of 19% reduction of HTS tapes, as compared with the original coil with the rectangular cross section.     

An inverse model for optimisation of laser heat flux distributions in an automated laser tape placement process for carbon-fibre/PEEK

High power diode lasers have enabled higher placement rates to be achieved in automated tape placement (ATP) of thermoplastic-based composite materials. Laser ATP heads in published literature employ homogeneous linear or rectangular laser spots, however a variety of solutions are available to produce customised irradiance profiles. No efforts to date have investigated what a more ideal heat flux profile would be for laser ATP in terms of length and distribution. This paper describes a method to determine the required laser heat flux profiles to achieve desired heating zone temperature profiles by means of an inverse thermal model. A bonding model was implemented to assess the performance of various heating zone temperature profiles for placement at 400 mm/s. Short beam strengths from experimental trials (Stokes-Griffin and Compston, 2015) were used to validate the bonding model. A two-stepped heating profile was found to provide a good balance of increased strength with a small increase in power requirement.     

Texture studies of carbon and graphite tapes by XRD texture goniometry

Novel mesophase pitch-based carbon and graphite tapes have been developed, in which the graphite basal planes are aligned predominantly either parallel or perpendicular to the tape surface. The XRD texture goniometer has been used to quantifiably characterise the orientation of the graphite layers in these novel materials to provide a correlation between processing parameters, structural orientation and physical properties. The pole figures of the carbon and graphite tapes clearly show the arrangement of the graphitic crystalline structure within the tapes which can be directly correlated with the textures as observed in transverse cross-sections in the SEM. X-ray texture analyses of the as-spun mesophase pitch tapes indicate that they have better initial preferred orientation along the tapes compared to as-spun circular fibres. Additionally, the tapes can be made to have a texture in which the graphite layers are largely orientated parallel to the tape surface which may make them more graphitisable materials for thermal management applications.     

Processing of Ti-SiC metal matrix composites by tape casting

Abstract

Titanium-silicon carbide (Ti-SiC) continuous fibre composites are very attractive for aerospace applications. Although development of various components is under way, a cost effective method to manufacture the material still has to be identified. Here, a tape casting technique is investigated as a viable method of producing the composites. It involves relatively large inexpensive titanium powder and simple apparatus. Furthermore, the powder particles ensure good fibre distribution, reduced consolidation time, and little damage to the reinforcement. It is shown that uniform powder tapes with good packing density can be readily produced using appropriate casting parameters. Both thermogravimetry and mass spectrometry are used to analyse the burnout process of a fugitive binder system used to produce the tapes. Removal of the organics is found to take place in two stages, separated by over 100 K. composite materials processed by the tape casting route exhibit good fibre distribution and no signs of fibre damage.     

热压处理对室温轧制Ag/Bi(2223)超导带材显微组织的影响

采用SEM和TEM观测了经热压处理后的Ag/Bi(2223) 带材(Jc＝56000A/cm2,在77K、自场)和只经过室温轧制处理的带材.与室温轧制的带材比较发现:即使在临近第二相的区域,热压处理后的带材结构也非常密实;热压处理后,晶体缺陷诸如裂缝、亚晶界、残余无定形态和中间相等,易阻碍或中断电流传输的缺陷显著减少;热压处理后带材的位错密度基本相同,但在某些区域分布不均匀或呈网状结构;在一定方向上晶界能捕获途经它的位错;热压过程促使第二相部分转变为超导相Bi(2223),进而提高带材的载流能力.     

A process model for the compaction and saturation of partially impregnated thermoset prepreg tapes

Automated manufacturing of composite materials is key to reducing cost and improving consistency in part quality. Modeling of manufacturing processes can identify influential material, geometric, and process variables, while providing a framework for their optimization and control. A process model has been formulated to describe the compaction and saturation of partially impregnated thermoset prepreg tapes during their placement, using a roller compaction and vacuum consolidation. The roles of various parameters that characterize the initial prepreg tape state and the final prepreg tape state are investigated. The model yields the degree of resin saturation in the tape with changes in its thickness after being compacted, due to an external pressure. The results estimate the degree of dry fiber region within the tape, which can provide vacuum pathways for air or volatile removal before consolidation and cure. The model can be adapted for different material constitutive relationships of tape compaction and saturation.     

Mercury porosimetry analysis of magnetic coatings

Mercury porosimetry can be used to characterize the structure of magnetic tape coatings but to get accurate information, compressibility corrections for the sample cell and basefilm must be made. Equations to make these corrections have been developed and published previously. These equations have been used to help interpret recent studies of tape coatings. These analyses have shown: 1. The Critical Pigment Volume Concentration (CPVC) of a magnetic pigment can be determined by measuring the mercury porosity of actual magnetic tapes. This CPVC can differ from the CPVC determined from tensile measurements of thick uncalendered coatings. 2. Postcuring of magnetic metal powder coatings was followed by measuring porosity and compressibility with mercury intrusion. The curing with isocyanate follows a first order reaction kinetics and is a relatively slow process, even after 7 days of storage the coating is not fully cured. 3. Multipass durability of (metal powder) audio tapes is directly correlated with porosity of the coating layer. For durable tapes porosity must be absent.     

Bi系2223高温超导带材力学性质

对4种Bi系2223高温超导带材77 K下的力学性质进行了实验研究.通过选择合适的合金包套替代传统的银包套,带材的机械性能能有所提高,但电学性质有所降低,尤其是内包套采用合金、外包套采用银,其机械性能反而低于纯银包套带材.通过X射线衍射图谱发现,当包套采用合金材料,尤其是内包套采用合金、外包套仍采用纯银,会大大降低样品中2223相的体积含量.相比较临界电流密度,n值对材料的破坏更为敏感.利用X光同步辐射技术初步探讨了银包套带材在室温和77 K下的损伤破坏过程.