Time-temperature equivalence in the tack and dynamic stiffness of polymer prepreg and its application to automated composites manufacturing

Crossley, Richard J.; Schubel, Peter J.; De Focatiis, Davide S.A.

Abstract

A recently developed peel test designed to simulate the automated tape lay-up (ATL) process was used to measure tack and dynamic stiffness of newly developed ATL prepregs. Resin was extracted from the prepreg process before impregnation of the fibres. Isothermal small amplitude frequency sweeps were carried out in shear rheology to determine time-temperature superposition parameters in the form of Williams-Landel-Ferry equation. Gel permeation chromatography and differential scanning calorimetry demonstrated that the resin was not significantly changed during the prepregging process. The WLF parameters were used to transpose isothermal tack and dynamic stiffness results with excellent agreement found. This relationship offers manufacturers using composite prepreg a method to maximise and maintain tack levels at different feed rates by appropriate changes in temperature. This is of significant importance in improving the reliability of automated composite lay-up processes such as AFP and ATL, whose feed rate must vary to accommodate lay-up operations. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

Crossley, R. J., Schubel, P. J., & De Focatiis, D. S. (2013). Time-temperature equivalence in the tack and dynamic stiffness of polymer prepreg and its application to automated composites manufacturing. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 52, 126-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2013.05.002

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: May 13, 2013
• Publication Date: 2013-09
• Deposit Date: Mar 31, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 31, 2014
• Journal: Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing
• Print ISSN: 1359-835X
• Electronic ISSN: 1878-5840
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 52
• Pages: 126-133
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2013.05.002
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1001277
• Publisher URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359835X1300136X
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Time–temperature equivalence in the tack and dynamic stiffness of polymer prepreg and its application to automated composites manufacturing; Journal Title: Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2013.05.002; Content Type: article; Copyright: Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.