• Design & Manufacturing
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.28-33
• /
• 2023

The conventional FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastic) manufacturing process used thermoset resins for ease of molding but faced the issue of non-recyclability. To address these shortcomings, a new process utilizing thermal plastic resin was developed. However, due to the high viscosity of thermal plastic resin, problems such as fiber deformation and a reduced fiber volume fraction occurred during the high-temperature, high-pressure process. In this study, to overcome the limitations of the conventional process, fiber-reinforced composite materials were manufactured through in-situ polymerization using PLA (Poly L-Lactide) resin in the VA-RTM (Vacuum Assistance Resin Transfer Molding) process. The fiber volume of the produced specimens was calculated, and resin impregnation and porosity were confirmed through optical microscopy. Additionally, molecular weight analysis using GPC (Gel Permission Chromatography) demonstrated improvements over the conventional process and emphasized the essential requirement of temperature control.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.12 no.5
• /
• pp.31-39
• /
• 1999

Glass-fiber reinforced polymeric composites provide the desitable properties of high stiffness and strength as well as specific weight. Hence, they have become some of the most important materials in several industries. These composites can be grouped into thermoplastic and thermoset composites, with thermoplastic composites having several advantages over thermoset composites in mechanical properties and processing. As a result, the study of the material behavior and forming techniques of such composites has attracted considerable attention in recent years. When the continuous fiber-reinforced polymeric composites are molded by flow molding, the molded parts leads to be nonhomogeneity and anisotropic because of the separation and orientation of fibers. As the characteristics of the products are greatly dependent on the separation, it is very important to clarify the separation in relarion to molding conditions, fiber mat structures and mold geometry. In this study, the effects of the mold geometry and the fiber mat structure on the compression moldability are studied using the cup-type molding.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 2003.11a
• /
• pp.235-238
• /
• 2003

Thermo-plastic has generally bad electrical characteristics at high temperature comparing to thermoset-plastics when the plastic apply to electrical power apparatus as an electrical insulator. To solve the problem, we study engineering plastics such as Polyamide and Polyphthalamide as a base resin. And filler of the engineering plastics is glass fiber. Electrical characteristics studied are permittivity, loss factor and breakdown strength according to temperature and frequency of measuring signal. Electrical characteristics of Polyphthalamide has good temperature and frequency dependency comparing to those of Polyamide.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.105-112
• /
• 2000

Using a commercial epoxy/carbon fiber composite prepreg (DMS 2224) as a model system, the cure kinetics of vitrifying thermoset system were analyzed by isothermal and dynamic-heating experiments. Focusing on the processing condition of high performance composite systems, a phenomenological kinetic model was developed by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and reaction kinetics theories. The model system exhibited a limited degree of cure as a function of isothermal temperature seemingly due to the diffusion-controlled reaction rates. The diffusion-controlled cure reaction was incorporated in the development of the kinetic model, and the model parameters were determined from isothermal experiments. The first order reaction was confirmed from the characteristic shape of isothermal cure thermograms, and the activation energy wes 78.43 kJ/mol. Finally, the proposed model was used to predict a complex autoclave thermal condition, which was composed of several isothermal and dynamic-heating stages.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.83-92
• /
• 2000

In resin transfer molding (RTM) process, preplaced fiber mat is set up in a mold and thermoset resin is injected into the mold. An important interest in RTM process is to minimize cycle time without sacrificing part quality or increasing cost. In this study, the numerical simulation and optimization process in filling stage were conducted in order to determine the optimum gate locations. Control volume finite element method (CVFEM) was used in this numerical analysis with the coordinate transformation method to analyze the complex 3-dimensional structure. Experiments were performed to monitor the flow front to validate simulation results. The results of numerical simulation predicted well the experimental results with every single, simultaneous and sequential injection procedure. We performed the optimization analysis for the sequential injection procedure to minimize fill time. The complex geometry of an automobile bumper core was chosen. Genetic algorithm was used in order to determine the optimum gate locations with regard to 3-step sequential injection case. These results could provide the information of the optimum gate locations in each injection step and could predict fill time and flow front.

• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
• /
• v.67
• /
• pp.358-364
• /
• 2018

An isotropic pitch precursor for fabricating carbon fibres was prepared by co-carbonization of ethylene bottom oil(EBO) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Various pre-treatments of EBO and PVC, and a high heating rate of $3^{\circ}C/min$ with no holding time, were evaluated for their effects on the oxidative stabilization process and the mechanical stability of the resulting fibres. Our stabilization process enhanced the volatilization, oxidative reaction and decomposition properties of the precursor pitch, while the addition of PVC both decreased the onset time and accelerated the oxidative reaction. Aliphatic carbon groups played a critical role in stabilization. Microstructural characterization indicated that these were first oxidised to carbon-oxygen single bonds and then converted to carbon-oxygen double bonds. Due to the higher heating rate and lack of a holding step during processing,the resulting thermoplastic fibers did not completely convert to thermoset materials, allowing partially melted, adjacent fibres to fuse. Fiber surfaces were smooth and homogeneous. Of the various methods evaluated herein, carbon fibers derived from pressure-treated EBO and PVC exhibited the highest tensile strength. This work shows that enhancing the naphthenic component of a pitch precursor through the co-carbonization of pre-treated EBO with PVC improves the oxidative properties of the resulting carbon fibers.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.243-248
• /
• 2016

Although thermoset carbon fiber composite bipolar plates not only have high mechanical properties but also high corrosion resistance in acid environment, high manufacturing cost and low bulk electrical conductivity are the biggest obstacle to overcome. In this research, thermoplastic polymer is employed for the matrix of carbon composite bipolar plate to increase both the manufacturing productivity and bulk electric conductivity of the bipolar plate. In order to increase the electrical conductivity and strength, plain type carbon fabric rather than chopped or unidirectional fibers is used. Also nano particles are embedded in the thermoplastic matrix to increase the bulk resistance of the bipolar plate. The area specific resistance and the mechanical strength of the developed bipolar plate are measured with respect to the environmental temperature and stack compaction pressure.