Hybrid yarn for thermoplastic fiber composites. Summary of technical results

摘要

The program, which started at the 15th of June 1994 and expired at the 31st of December 1997, was a framework program under the Danish Materials Technology Program, MUP2. A new type of hybrid yarn for production of fiber composites with thermoplastic matrix material is developed and tested. A hybrid yarn is a commingled textured yarn consisting of structural fibers and thermoplastic fibers. In a subsequent heating and consolidation process, the plastic fibres melt and become the matrix material in the formed fibre composite material. Two types of processing technology are developed and studied, vacuum consolidation and press consolidation. Vacuum consolidation of hybrid yarn fabrics is suitable for fabrication of larger parts such as wind turbine blades, and press consolidation is a fast process suitable for smaller parts such as automobile body parts. To demonstrate the potential for industrial use of the developed hybrid yarn and process technologies, a section of a wind turbine blade, an inspection cover, and a car door-post have been produced. An environmental evaluation of the manufacture of hybrid yarn and composites shows that the use of the hybrid yarn is an asset for both the working environment and the external environment, compared to the use of thermosetting polymer composites. (au)