Glass Fiber-reinforced Polyamide Research Articles

Analysis of single-point warm incremental forming for glass fiber-reinforced polyamide 6 sheets: Experimentation and simulation

Analysis of single-point warm incremental forming for glass fiber-reinforced polyamide 6 sheets: Experimentation and simulation

Very high cycle fatigue assessment of thermoplastic-based hybrid fiber metal laminate by using a high-frequency resonant testing system

The prolonged fatigue lifetime of fiber metal laminates (FML) compared to monolithic metals is a key aspect for safety-relevant components, where detailed knowledge about the fatigue properties up to the very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) regime is necessary. For thermoplastic-based FMLs, offering formability, recyclability, and mass production due to short consolidation cycle times, this knowledge needs to be established.In this study, FML containing AA6082 sheets and unidirectional glass and carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide 6 was investigated. Fatigue tests up to max. 109 cycles were conducted on a servo-hydraulic and a high-frequency resonant fatigue testing system with frequencies of 10 Hz and 1,000 Hz. Frequency-induced self-heating was evaluated and limited using air-cooling to maintain the matrix properties. Fatigue progress was monitored through high-speed optical deformation analysis.Compared to HCF loads, VHCF loads lead to reduced crack and delamination occurrence. Changes in microstructure are dominated by singular crack initiation and propagation within the aluminum. The FML’s S-N curve shows a significant flattening from the HCF to the VHCF regime, simplifying the predictability of the fatigue life. By using post-stretching, the VHCF strength can be increased by over 60 %, making this thermoplastic-based FML a considerable competitor in the field of FML.

Processing and Analysis of Hybrid Fiber-Reinforced Polyamide Composite Structures Made by Fused Granular Fabrication and Automated Tape Laying

Fused granular fabrication (FGF) is a large format additive manufacturing (LFAM) technology and focuses on cost-effective granulate-based manufacturing by eliminating the need for semifinished filaments. This allows a faster production time and a broader range of usable materials for tailored composites. In this study, the mechanical and morphological properties of FGF test structures made of polyamid 6 reinforced with 40% of short carbon fibers were investigated. For this purpose, FGF test structures with three different parameter settings were produced. The FGF printed structures show generally significant anisotropic mechanical characteristics, caused by the layer-by-layer building process. To enhance the mechanical properties and reduce the anisotropic behavior of FGF structures, continuous unidirectional fiber-reinforced tapes (UD tapes), employing automated tape laying (ATL), were subsequently applied. Thus, a significant improvement in the flexural stiffness and strength of the manufactured FGF structures was observed by hybridization with 60% glass fiber-reinforced polyamide 6 UD tapes. Since the effectiveness of UD-tape reinforcement depends mainly on the quality of the bond between the UD tape and the FGF structure, the surface quality of the FGF structure, the interface morphology, and the tape-laying process parameters were investigated.

Assessment of fiber orientation models predictability by comparison with X-ray µCT data in injection-molded short glass fiber-reinforced polyamide

Assessment of fiber orientation models predictability by comparison with X-ray µCT data in injection-molded short glass fiber-reinforced polyamide

Experimental Investigation of Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Fibre-Reinforced Composite Structures for Robotic Applications

AbstractThis study explores the variation in mechanical properties of additively manufactured composite structures for robotic applications with different infill densities and layer heights using fused deposition modelling (FDM). Glass fibre-reinforced polyamide (GFRP), and carbon fibre-reinforced polyamide (CFRP) filaments are used, and the specimens are printed with 20%, 40%, 60% and 100% infill density lattice structures for tensile and three-point bending tests. These printed samples are examined in the microscope to gain more understanding of the microstructure of the printed composites. To characterise the mechanical properties, a set of tensile and three-point bend tests are conducted on the manufactured composite samples. Test results indicate the variations in tensile strength and Young’s modulus of specimens based on the printing parameters and reveal the tensile and bending behaviour of those printed composite structures against varying infill ratios and reinforcing fibres. The experimental findings are also compared to analytical and empirical modelling approaches. Finally, based on the results, the applications of the additively manufactured structure to the robotic components are presented.

Stretching and Forming Limit Curve of Steel–Glass Fibre Reinforced and Non-Reinforced Polyamide–Steel Sandwich Materials

This paper focuses on investigating the forming behaviour of sandwich materials composed of steel sheets and glass fibre-reinforced polyamide 6 (GF-PA6), i.e., thermoplastic-based fibre metal laminates (FML). Stretching and forming limit curve (FLC) determination of FML with different cover/core layer thickness ratios at various forming temperatures, i.e., at room temperature (RT), 200 and 235 °C, are the main approaches for characterizing their formability. In addition, the formability of mono-materials and non-reinforced sandwich materials is investigated as a reference. For a successful test and reliable results, several technical issues are considered, such as the suitable lubrication configuration and digital image correlation at elevated forming temperatures. The results revealed that the formability of non-reinforced sandwich materials with different core layer thicknesses exhibited compared formability to their monolithic steel sheet and no remarkable improvement in their formability with increasing the temperature up to 200 °C. Conversely, the formability of FML shows significant improvement (approx. 300%) with increasing temperature with a forming depth of about 33 mm at 235 °C compared to only 12 mm at RT.

A Continuum Damage-Based Anisotropic Hyperelastic Fatigue Model for Short Glass Fiber Reinforced Polyamide 66

A phenomenological 3D anisotropic nonlinear fatigue damage model has been developed for a short glass fiber-reinforced polyamide. The model is formulated within the framework of continuum damage mechanics and is based on a proposed anisotropic hyperelastic strain energy function. The proposed model accounts for the effects of fiber content and nonlinear material behavior. The mechanical behavior of polyamide reinforced with 20% and 30% wt short glass fiber has been experimentally investigated under quasi-static and fatigue loading. Fatigue tests under bending loading are carried out on rectangular specimens cut in the parallel and perpendicular direction to the mold flow direction. The proposed fatigue damage model allows predicting the fatigue damage of composite materials reinforced with short fiberglass, considering fiber orientation and fiber content. The model is used to predict the damage evolution and the number of cycles to failure, and good agreement between predicted values and experimental data is observed.

Investigation of the spring-back phenomenon in two-dimensional bending of continuous glass fiber-reinforced polyamide composite sheets

Thermoplastic composite sheets have great potential for use in industrial applications owing to their fast-forming properties in the mold. One of the important matters of forming is the tendency of the part to recover elastically after it comes out of the mold. This behavior affects the dimensional accuracy of the final part. In this study, V-bending experiments were carried out to understand the spring-back phenomenon of continuous glass fiber-reinforced polyamide-6 composite sheets. Unidirectional and cross-ply composite sheets were used in the experiments and bending angle, die radius, pressure, and dwell-time were investigated systematically. After bending, the spring-back angles of the parts were measured and the effects of the inspected parameters were compared. Also, variations in part thickness caused by spring-back were evaluated. Finally, the deformations in the specimens resulting from the residual stress were visualized with a scanning electron microscope. When the results were compared, it was determined that the bending conditions where the spring-back defect could be minimized were 6 mm radius, 90° angle, 120 s dwell-time, and 3 MPa pressure. Under these situations and in sheets bent 90°, the amount of spring-back was determined as 22° for unidirectional composites and 15° for cross-ply composites.

Microwave absorption and mechanical properties of glass fiber/polyamide 6 composites containing carbon black by microstructural design

Microwave absorbing composite laminates were prepared by a simple hot pressing process using glass fiber reinforced polyamide 6 (GF/PA6) doped with different content of carbon black (CB). The microwave absorption and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. 8 wt% CB/GF/PA6 composite had a minimum reflection loss (RL) of −40.05 dB and the bandwidth of RL ≤ −10 dB is 4.6 GHz. The flexural strength was 207.2 ± 10.7 MPa, the shearing strength was 26.0 ± 1.1 MPa, and the impact strength was 71.2 ± 5.7 kJ/m2. Moreover, the microstructure of the composites was tailored by disc granulation method to obtain reticular microstructure composed of different particle sizes to improve the microwave absorption and mechanical properties of the composites. It was found that the RL of 7 wt% granulated CB/GF/PA6 composite was −56.45 dB. The flexural strength was 214.9 ± 4.4 MPa, the shearing strength was 21.7 ± 0.5 MPa, and the impact strength was 88.0 ± 8.5 kJ/m2. This method facilitated the integration of structure and function.

Comparison between the Mechanical Recycling Behaviour of Amorphous and Semicrystalline Polymers: A Case Study

The increase in waste has motivated the adoption of the circular economy concept, which assumes particular relevance in the case of plastic materials. This has led to research of new possibilities for recycling plastics after their end-of-life. To achieve this goal, it is fundamental to understand how the materials’ properties change after recycling. This study aims to evaluate the thermal and mechanical properties of recycled plastics, namely polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS), glass fibre-reinforced polyamide 6 (PA6-GF30), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). With this purpose, injected samples were mechanically recycled twice and compared through thermal and mechanical tests, such as differential scanning calorimetry, hardness, tensile strength, and the melt flow rate. The results show that the amorphous materials used do not suffer significant changes in their properties but exhibit changes in their optical characteristics. The semicrystalline ones present some modifications. PET is the material that suffers the biggest changes, both in its flowability and mechanical properties. This work demonstrates that the mechanical recycling process may be an interesting possibility for recycling depending on the desired quality of final products, allowing for some materials to maintain comparable thermal and mechanical properties after going through the recycling process.

Effect of chemical ageing on fatigue life of short glass fiber-reinforced Polyamide 6,6

In this study, the effect of hydrolysis and oxidation on fatigue life of Polyamide 6,6 reinforced with 30 wt% glass fibers has been studied systematically for the first time. The chemical changes due to these two chemical processes were monitored, especially the molar mass decrease over ageing time, homogeneous throughout the sample for hydrolysis and localized in a near-surface layer for oxidized samples. In both cases the fatigue life was significantly decreased with ageing. For homogeneously aged samples, the maximal applied stress at a given number of cycles to failure was correlated to the decrease of the molar mass of the matrix using a Flory-based model. This leads to the definition of a critical molar mass around 13 kg/mol which can be linked to the molar mass between entanglements, suggesting that fatigue is governed by fracture occurring in the glassy amorphous phase. To explain the decrease in fatigue life for oxidized heterogeneous samples, we proposed that a brittle layer, smaller than the oxidized layer itself, is considered as not sustaining any stress. The existence of this brittle layer was confirmed by fracture surface analysis and found in good agreement with the values extracted from the analytical model proposed.

Mode of Action of Zn-DOPOx and Melamine Polyphosphate as Flame Retardants in Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polyamide 66.

In this study, the flame retardant effect of the Zn salt of 10-hydroxy-9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (Zn-DOPOx), melamine polyphosphate (MPP) and their mixture was investigated towards the mode of action in glass fiber-reinforced polyamide 66 (PA 66 GF). The flammability was evaluated using UL 94 V and cone calorimetry. Influence on char formation was analyzed by SEM. Thermal decomposition of Zn-DOPOx and MPP was studied by TGA and ATR-FTIR. The release of gaseous PA 66 decomposition products was investigated using TGA-DTA-FTIR. Combining Zn-DOPOx and MPP leads to an improvement in flame retardancy, most pronounced for equal parts of weight. Mode of action changes significantly for Zn-DOPOx:MPP (1:1) compared to the sole components and a strong interaction between Zn-DOPOx and MPP is revealed, resulting in a more open char structure. Fuel dilution as well as less exothermic decomposition are essential for the mode of action of the combination. Through low HRR values and high CO/CO2 ratio during cone calorimetry measurements, a significant increase in gas phase activity was proven. Therefore, it is concluded that Zn-DOPOx:MPP (1:1) leads to a significant increase in flame retardancy through a combination of mode of actions in the gas and condensed phase resulting from the change in thermal stability.

Pressure and heat treatment of continuous fibre reinforced thermoplastics produced by fused filament fabrication

Fused filament fabrication allows for the additive manufacturing of complex geometries without requiring moulds. However, due to large air voids and poor layer adhesion, the mechanical properties of parts manufactured using fused filament fabrication lag behind those of parts manufactured using conventional techniques. A previous study found that the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of such parts could be increased by a heat-treatment process. However, large air voids were still present after annealing. This study, therefore, investigates the influence of a post-pressure-treatment process on the mechanical performance and the air void ratio of continuous glass fibre-reinforced polyamide 6 in the directions perpendicular to the fibres. Without the treatment, Young’s modulus on the plane parallel to the printing bed is eight times higher than Young’s modulus perpendicular to it. Annealing at 1 MPa homogenises the material and leads to a significant increase of both the tensile strength (55 MPa) and Young’s modulus (5 GPa). Increasing the pressure to 3 MPa only slightly increases the mechanical performance, whereas a further increase to 6 MPa causes no significant changes.

Simultaneous Effects of Carboxyl Group-Containing Hyperbranched Polymers on Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polyamide 6/Hollow Glass Microsphere Syntactic Foams.

The hollow glass microsphere (HGM) containing polymer materials, which are named as syntactic foams, have been applied as lightweight materials in various fields. In this study, carboxyl group-containing hyperbranched polymer (HBP) was added to a glass fiber (GF)-reinforced syntactic foam (RSF) composite for the simultaneous enhancement of mechanical and rheological properties. HBP was mixed in various concentrations (0.5–2.0 phr) with RSF, which contains 23 wt% of HGM and 5 wt% of GF, and the rheological, thermal, and mechanical properties were characterized systematically. As a result of the lubricating effect of the HBP molecule, which comes from its dendritic architecture, the viscosity, storage modulus, loss modulus, and the shear stress of the composite decreased as the HBP content increased. At the same time, because of the hydrogen bonding among the polymer, filler, and HBP, the compatibility between filler and the polymer matrix was enhanced. As a result, by adding a small amount (0.5–2.0 phr) of HBP to the RSF composite, the tensile strength and flexural modulus were increased by 24.3 and 9.7%, respectively, and the specific gravity of the composite was decreased from 0.948 to 0.917. With these simultaneous effects on the polymer composite, HBP could be potentially utilized further in the field of lightweight materials.

Preparation of flame retardant glass fiber via emulsion impregnation and application in polyamide 6

Abstract As a commonly used reinforcement, glass fiber (GF) can improve the mechanical properties of thermoplastics. However, previous studies have suggested that GF was not good for the flame retardancy of thermoplastics because of “wick effect.” Herein, a novel flame retardant emulsion was synthesized, containing film-former, lubricant, silane coupling agent, and ammonium polyphosphate modified by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (mAPP). The GF impregnated with flame retardant emulsion and aluminum diethlyphosphinate (ADP) were blended with polyamide 6 (PA6) to prepare flame retardant GF reinforced PA6 (FRGFPA6/ADP). The LOI of FRGFPA6/ADP-15 can reach 34.7%, which is much higher than that of GF reinforced PA6 (GFPA6) and it also pass the UL-94 test and reach V-0 rating without dripping. The mHRR, pHRR, and THR of FRGFPA6/ADP-15 are reduced by 44.2, 121.0, and 26.3% compared to GFPA6. After burning, the surface of flame retardant GF can form a carbon layer, which improved the efficiency of interfacial flame retardancy between GF and PA6 and weakened the “wick effect.” At the same time, ADP is added to the matrix to release free radicals to capture oxygen in the air, and carbon layer is formed to isolate the air. The synergistic effect of ADP and mAPP increased the flame retardancy of GFPA6.

Expandable Graphite, Aluminum Diethylphospinate and Melamine Polyphosphate as Flame Retarding System in Glass Fiber-Reinforced PA6.

A flame retardant system based on expandable graphite (EG), aluminum diethylphosphinate (AlPI) and melamine polyphosphate (MPP) was investigated in glass fiber- (GF) reinforced polyamide 6 (PA6). Burning characteristics were evaluated via cone calorimeter, limiting oxygen index (LOI) and UL-94 tests. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and coupled Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to investigate the decomposition process as well as flame retardant modes of actions. Specifically, in the cone calorimeter tests, formulations containing EG showed excellent flame retardant properties for non-reinforced and reinforced PA6. The best performance was achieved for 25 wt.% glass fiber-reinforced PA6 containing solely 20 wt.% EG, corresponding to a measured pHRR of 134 kW/m2 and a total smoke production of 1.2 m2. Higher glass fiber contents of 45 wt.% (30 vol.%) revealed a lower char volume, which was attributed to both the limited space available for expansion and the sheer-induced reduction in particle size during processing. All of the reinforced PA6 formulations only achieved V2 classifications, but this was at low filling degrees (10 wt.%) for both net EG or EG/AlPi/MPP combinations. For GF-reinforced PA6 containing EG/AlPi/MPP mixtures, a synergistic effect was found to improve the oxygen index up to 30.6%.

An experimental investigation into single point incremental forming of glass fiber-reinforced polyamide sheet with different fiber orientations and volume fractions at elevated temperatures

Recent studies have proven the possibility of polymer sheet forming by incremental sheet forming (ISF) process, while there are limited studies on ISF of polymer matrix composites. Fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) are significantly useful in industries due to their unique properties. In the current study, owing to the merits of ISF and the wide applicability of FRP, single point incremental forming (SPIF) of polyamide 6 (PA6) sheets reinforced by glass fibers (GF) is taken into account at various forming temperatures. In this regard, a fixture equipped with a ceramic infrared heating element was designed. The effect of some important parameters such as the volume fraction and orientation of fibers and the forming temperature on the formability, the thickness distribution, and the dimensional accuracy of PA6 and PA6/GF sheets is investigated. According to the results, an improvement in the formability of the composite sheet can be obtained using SPIF by increasing the forming temperature and decreasing the volume fraction of fibers. The formability of the composite sheet with the fiber orientation of [0/90] is far less than the one with unidirectional fibers. In the most of the successfully formed samples, the transverse compaction and the fracture of fibers at the part bottom, the buckling of fibers at the edge of the backing plate, and the draw-in of the sheet along the main direction of fibers can be detected. The thinning of the composite sheet is most affected by the volume fraction and orientation of fibers, while the forming temperature has the least effect. Moreover, the feasibility of SPIF of a circular flange with a wall angle of 90° from the composite sheet is assessed at elevated temperature.

Effect of Expanded Graphite on Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Polyamide 6/Glass Fibre Composites

The quality of plastic gears, especially their durability, is becoming increasingly important due to advances in electric mobility. Therefore, new materials are being developed that must have better mechanical properties, high thermal conductivity for heat dissipation, and tribological properties. The composites of expanded graphite (EG) and glass fibre-reinforced polyamide 6 (PA6/GF) were prepared, and the effect of EG particle size (~5 μm (EG5) and ~1000 μm (EG1000)) on these properties was investigated. Composites with different contents (2-10 wt%) of EG in PA6/GF were prepared using a laboratory twin-screw extruder and then injection moulded in the form of rods and discs required for thermal, thermomechanical, and tribological tests. EG acted as a nucleating agent but hindered the crystallization rate at higher concentrations, which was more pronounced when EG5 was added. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the storage modulus increased with the addition of both types of EG. However, the addition of EG5 increased the storage modulus more than EG1000. The lowest coefficient of friction was obtained by the addition of 10 wt% EG5. The wear increased with the addition of both types of EG, only slightly with the addition of EG1000. The thermal conductivity of the composites with EG increased from 0.42 W/mK to 1 W/mK. The results show that the use of EG with smaller particle size is much more beneficial than with a larger one.

Cell morphologies, mechanical properties, and fiber orientation of glass fiber-reinforced polyamide composites: Influence of subcritical gas-laden pellet injection molding foaming technology

Advanced materials and new lightweighting technologies are essential for boosting the fuel economy of modern automobiles while maintaining performance and safety. A novel approach called subcritical gas-laden pellet injection molding foaming technology (SIFT) was performed to produce foamed polyamide/glass fiber (PA/GF) composite. Gas-laden pellets loaded with nitrogen (N2) were produced by introducing sub-critical N2 into PA/GF composite during compounding using a twin-screw extruder equipped with a simple gas injection unit. Compared to the commercial microcellular injection molding (MIM) technologies, gas-laden pellets enable the production of foamed parts with a standard injection molding machine, which is more cost-effective and easier to implement. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt that the SIFT technology is being used for the PA/GF composites for making foamed parts. The tensile strength, fiber orientation, cell morphology, and densities of foamed PA/GF parts were investigated, and the shelf life of N2-laden PA/GF pellets was examined. Results showed that the N2-laden pellets still possessed good foaming ability after one week of storage under ambient atmospheric conditions. One week is a noticeable improvement compared to those N2-laden neat polymer pellets without glass fibers. With this approach, the weight reduction of foamed PA/GF parts was able to reach 12.0 wt. %. Additionally, a nondestructive analysis of the fiber orientation using micro-computed tomography suggested that the MIM and SIFT samples exhibited a less degree of fiber orientation along the flow direction when compared to the solid samples and that the tensile strength of both technologies was very close at a similar weight reduction. Cell size increased and cell density decreased as the shelf life increased. These findings showed that this processing method could act as an alternative to current commercial foam injection molding technology for producing lightweight parts with greater design freedom.

Influence of Fiber Orientation on Deformation of Additive Manufactured Composites

Anisotropy caused by flow-induced fiber orientation of discontinuous fibers within the extrudate in the Extrusion Deposition Additive Manufacturing (EDAM) process gives rise to anisotropic shrinkage in printed parts and thereby, final part deformations. Three fiber orientation states, described by the second-order orientation tensor, were investigated to determine their influence upon final geometry. Two material systems were investigated including a short glass fiber-reinforced polyamide and a short carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide. A curvilinear geometry was modeled and printed virtually in the thermo-mechanical simulation, ADDITIVE3D©. The scale of the printed geometry was in the range of 300–400 mm and contained three semicircular geometry regions connected to linear regions, thereby inducing significant magnification of the spring-in deformation. The predicted deformation of the printed geometry for the three fiber orientation states and two material systems were compared. The deformation predicted for glass fiber-filled polyamide and carbon fiber-filled polyamide of the same fiber orientation states showed comparable deformations. The largest residual deformation was shown to correspond to the orientation tensor with the greatest degree of anisotropy.