Abstract
Sandwich structures benefit from the geometrical stiffening effect due to their high cross-sectional area moment of inertia. Transferred to carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) components, the needed amount of carbon fiber (CF) material can be reduced and with it the CO2 footprint. The combination of a light foam core with continuous fiber-reinforced face sheets is a suitable material combination for lightweight design. Traditionally, CFRP sandwich structures with a foam core are manufactured in a two-step process by combining a prefabricated foam core with fiber-reinforced face sheets. However, in addition to the reduction in the used CFRP material, manufacturing processes with a high efficiency are needed. The objective of this paper is the sandwich manufacturing and characterization by using the Direct Sandwich Composite Molding (D-SCM) process for the one-step production of CFRP sandwich structures. The D-SCM process utilizes the resulting foaming pressure during the reactive polyurethane (PUR) foam system expansion for the impregnation of the CF-reinforced face sheets. The results of this work show that the production of sandwich structures with the novel D-SCM process strategy is feasible in one single manufacturing step and achieves good impregnation qualities. The foam density and morphology significantly influence the core shear properties and thus the component behavior under a bending load.
Highlights
Carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) components have to face the challenge of the high resource consumption during material extraction and component manufacture counteracting the weight and emission savings they offer during the use phase
The biaxial (0◦ /90◦ ), 50 K-based carbon fiber non-crimp fabric (NCF) PX35MD030B127T from Zoltek Corporation was used for the fiber reinforcement of the face sheets
The infiltration of the face sheets is possible with both resin systems investigated
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Existing legal frameworks and social pressure set the requirements for material and production process developments. The environmental impact by harmful emissions is increasingly monitored, from manufacture to disposal (life cycle assessment). Carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) components have to face the challenge of the high resource consumption during material extraction (greenhouse gas impact of 38.9 kg CO2 -equivalent per kg CF [1]) and component manufacture counteracting the weight and emission savings they offer during the use phase. The development focus must not be exclusively on mechanical performance and cycle times. The environmental impact of CFRP components from the beginning of the product life cycle must be reduced to improve the overall balance of the component during its whole life cycle compared to conventional materials
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