INCREASED COMPLEXITYAND FUNCTIONAL INTEGRATION OF CONTINUOUS FIBER-REINFORCED THERMOSETS BY THERMOSET INJECTION MOLDING

摘要

Compared to thermoplastics, thermoset matrices are preferred for the production of continuous fiber-reinforced plastic components for safety-relevant applications as well as applications with a higher temperature requirement. A new technology is developed at the Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) in Industry and the Skilled Crafts at RWTH Aachen University to increase the component complexity and the functional integration of structural thermoset continuous fiber-reinforced lightweight components using the thermoset injection molding process. For this purpose, two process routes are investigated. First, the back-molding of components manufactured by the Resin-Transfer-Molding (RTM-) process in a two-step process is investigated. A second approach is the process-integrated and combined curing and back-molding of uncured laminates made of towpregs or prepregs in a one-step process. This paper presents the results of investigations on the functionalization of continuous fiber-reinforced RTM components using the thermoset injection molding process. In addition to the development of a test specimen, the influence of the surface quality of the continuous fiber-reinforced component on the resulting bond to the injection molding compound is demonstrated and discussed by means of optical and mechanical analyses.