Chemical treatments for fibres and wire-coated composite strands for molding fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite articles

摘要

The invention involves applying a thermoplastic composition to fibers (10), such as reinforcing fibers (12) suitable for making a composite article, so as to size and/or preimpregnate the fibers. The composition has a relatively low viscosity and is substantially solvent-free and non-radiation curable. Heat energy may be employed to lower the viscosity and improve the wetting ability of the applied composition and/or to increase the molecular weight of, or otherwise cure, the composition with essentially no generation of solvent vapor. The treated fibers (32) are used to form a composite strand (14), which may be subsequently processed in-line or off-line into a composite article having fibers disposed in a polymeric matrix. The invention provides also a thermoplastic composition for use in such a method. IMAGE