MANUFACTURING OF HYBRID PROFILES: CONTINUOUS FIBER REINFORCED THERMOSET PROFILES WITH A THERMOPLASTIC TOP LAYER

摘要

Pultruded continuous fiber reinforced thermoset profiles are widely applied as semi-finishedrnproducts for example in load-bearing parts of bridges or as claddings in vehicles. At the Instituternof Plastics Processing at RWTH Aachen University (IKV), an enhancement of the pultrusionrnprocess is investigated to functionalize the thermoset pultruded profile inline by coating with arnthermoplastic top layer. On the one hand, this offers process advantages such as an economicrnone-step manufacturing of hybrid profile. On the other hand, the product properties, e.g. surfacernqualities and impact resistance, are improved. At the same time the welding of load transferrnelements can be realized.rnIn order to achieve these advantages, a combined pultrusion and extrusion process has beenrndeveloped. Based on the identified challenges related to the combination of two continuousrnprocesses with a thermoset and a thermoplastic material, a suitable process layout and dierntechnology was developed to establish an optimal process. The process must realize an intrinsicrnjoining between the pre-cured, however still reactive pultruded thermoset profile and thernextruded thermoplastic melt. This paper describes the developed process and the results of thernresearch that has been conducted to optimize both the process parameters and the productrnproperties.