Abstract
Automatic lay-up and in-situ consolidation with thermoplastic composite materials is a technology under research for its expected use in the profitable manufacturing of structural aeronautical parts. This study is devoted to analysing the possible effects of thermal degradation produced by this manufacturing technique.Rheological measurements showed that there is negligible degradation in PEEK for the temperatures reached during the process. Thermogravimetric analysis under linear heating and constant rate conditions show that thermal degradation is a complex process with a number of overlapping steps. A general kinetic equation that describes the degradation of the material with temperature has been proposed and validated. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed that there is no remarkable degradation. The use of a combination of in-situ and ex-situ experimental techniques, including kinetic modelling, not only provides reliable information about degradation but also allows setting optimal processing conditions.
Highlights
With the goal of industrial application of thermoplastic composite materials in aeronautics, similar techniques to those used with thermosets should be fine-tuned taking into account their demonstrated success in aircraft [1]
In order to understand the possible thermal degradation experienced by the carbon fibre/thermoplastic material during the lamination and in-situ consolidation manufacturing process using laser treatment, several strategies have been used
The thermal degradation of PEEK in air was studied under in-situ heating conditions by means of rheological and thermogravimetric measurements
Summary
With the goal of industrial application of thermoplastic composite materials in aeronautics, similar techniques to those used with thermosets (automatic tape placement, fibre placement) should be fine-tuned taking into account their demonstrated success in aircraft [1]. Current automatic lamination with thermoplastic composite materials attempts to reach full consolidation in only one-step, avoiding the secondary use of an autoclave. The lack of tackiness in the material forces the use of heat sources that apply a punctual or surficial heating that lasts only several seconds. The operating principle of these machines is the sequential heating of individual layers before being placed in contact with the pre-positioned layer for the production of laminates of different shapes and ply orientations. Different heating sources have been used, with diode laser being a preferred solution [2]. After heating to the melting temperature of the polymer, the layers are compacted by a deformable roller
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