On the interply friction of different generations of unidirectional prepreg materials

Abstract

With the aim of reducing cost of prepreg composite components, manufacturing methods are developed and refined. An automatic tape laying machine can shorten the process cycle by stacking prepreg flat and thereafter allow for forming into desired shapes. Forming of stacked prepreg requires knowledge about the uncured properties of prepreg, such as viscosity of the matrix, intra- and interply deformation properties. This study focuses on the interply friction, i.e. the friction at the prepreg-prepreg interface, and how this affects the forming. The conclusions presented here show that the difference between prepreg material systems is significant. Further, it is concluded that the prepreg-prepreg friction is governed by a combination of Coulomb and hydrodynamic friction, where different mechanical phenomena dominate depending on the test conditions.QC 20101015Kostnadseffektiva kompositer (KEKS