Pultrusion of large thermoplastic composite profiles up to Ø 40 mm from glass-fibre/PET commingled yarns

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.109339Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • Pultrusion of solid thermoplastic composite rods from commingled yarns with diameters up to Ø 40 mm.

  • Multi-physics FE model simulating the temperature distribution and evolution during pultrusion.

  • In-situ observation of novel batch-pultrusion process via a transparent die.

Abstract

Pultrusion is a rapid and cost-effective manufacturing technology for continuous fibre reinforced thermoplastic composite profiles. As the cross-sections of pultruded profiles grow to meet increasing performance requirements, manufacturing challenges concerning heat transfer are encountered. In this study, a two-dimensional finite element model was used to simulate the heat transfer and fluid flow physics of the pultrusion process for increasing diameters from Ø 5–Ø 40 mm. To facilitate the experimental validation, a novel batch-wise pultrusion concept is introduced in which the impregnation process is observed in-situ using a transparent die. The pultrusion studies, conducted on glass-fibre/amorphous polyethylene terephthalate (GF/PET) commingled yarns, show that – with proper design – pultrusion is able to deliver consistent, high quality (void content < 2%) profiles up to at least Ø 40 mm.

Keywords

Pultrusion
Thermoplastic resin
Glass fibres
Thermal analysis

Cited by (0)