Squeeze flow in heterogeneous discontinuous viscous woven prepreg laminates-Experimental measurements and 3D modeling

摘要

Thermoplastic matrix composites reinforced with glass fiber reinforcements are viewed as an alternative to thermoset matrix composites for structural components in the automotive field, as they allow for lower costs and higher production rates. However, the forming of thermoplastic composites from a preform made of discontinuous plies is more sensitive to some defects, among which disorientation of the reinforcements originating from the bending and / or solid rotation of a discontinuous ply. These defects result from the polymer movements induced by the consolidation of the composite and degrade mechanical properties. For this reason, anticipating the risk of disorientation of the reinforcements during the manufacturing process is necessary to optimize the mechanical efficiency of the manufactured parts. This paper presents experiments conducted to identify the behavior of a stack of woven prepregs under compression and then proposes a model based on laminated isotropic and anisotropic fluid approach to describe and simulate this behavior numerically. Finally, experiments and simulations are compared to verify the validity of the model.