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reinforced thermoplastics?
The application
of long fibre
the automotive
industry
commercially
Breugel,
Centre
advantages
ibre
available
reinforced
where
large production
processing
of Lightweight
thermoplastics
equipment.
Structures,
reinforced
plastics
(FRP) are
in
Ferrie
van Hattum
Large-scale application
of these materials has so far been limited to short
fibre
reinforced
injection
moulding
materials.
The material
properties
in
these cases are about two to three times
higher than the unreinforced
material.
In the automotive
industry
glass mat
reinforced
thermoplastic
(GMT) (often
glass reinforced polypropylene)
is widely
used in semi-structural,
compression
moulded parts. High end applications
can be found in, for instance, the use of
high quality thermoplastic
matrices like
polyetheretherketone
(PEEK) with carbon fibre reinforcement.
In spite of the
excellent
properties
of this group of
materials, their high cost and processing
limitations
allow only limited application in, for example, aerospace products.
Price
42
relationship
REINFORCEDplastics
between different
Ju n e 2 0 0 1
fibre reinforced
thermoplastics.
limited
to
a more economical
Continuous fibre
reinforced plastics
Figure I: Price-property
mainly
the Netherlands,
used in products
where weight
savings, reduced production
costs,
low maintenance
costs and freedom of
design are an issue. In these cases,
thermosets
are traditionally
used, reinforced with glass or carbon fibres. In
has been
production
machine.
LFT
A relatively
new group of materials,
long
fibre reinforced
thermoplastics
(LFT) can exactly fill this gap. LFTs
are
thermoplastics
reinforced
with
discontinuous
long fibres (a few centimetres in length) and (unlike GMT)
are available
in different
fibre and
matrix combinations.
As a result, for
every application
the right material
combination
can be used. This characteristic
enables
LFT to fill the gap
between
GMT and continuous
fibre
reinforced thermoplastics
(see Figure 1).
Furthermore
some specific advantages
make LFT a serious
competitor
in
terms of price for products
in which
GMT is traditionally
used. In addition,
the compression
moulding
process for
these materials has not yet been fully
optimised. Better control of the effect of
the process on fibre distribution
in the
final product,
and therefore
on the
material properties,
can result in considerably improved
product properties
using the same materials.
0034-3617/07/$
see front matter 0 2001
Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
The potential
compared
product
cost reduction
to
GMT
quality
and
has been
of LFT
improved
demonstrated
in the front-ends
of the Volkswagen
Passat series which are currently made of
LFT, at the expense of the GMT previously used. In this example
some advantages
possibility
semi-finished
of working
materials
without
(in-line
extru-
sion compression
moulding):
less
labour intensive;
greater freedom of
materials;
lower
easier to recycle;
compression
forces
due
to
with
respect
to
thermoplastics?
moulds
and
machinery;
better surface quality;
shorter cycle times; and
less rejected products.
Economic advantages
of LfT
In the West European automotive industry alone, it is expected that by 2008 LFT
will account for 20% of the total amount
of fibre reinforced thermoplastics
used.
Products in other markets are also suitable for the application of LFT. Examples
include street furniture,
self-supporting
housing and machine parts.
(c) Compression
and cooling
The process
The processing of LFT (see Figure 2) is
very similar that of GMT and, to a lesser
extent,
sheet
moulding
compound
(SMC), and can be described in a simplified way by four steps:
melting the material;
ejection and insertion in the mould;
Figure
2:
moulding
for LFT.
2001
RElNFoRCEDplastics
43
of reinforced
thermoplastics?
the
machines
sibility
New developments
Because
of the
go with
the
large
investments
purchase
of the
to the automotive
in a cold
that
required
--t
l
Structures
the
of Aerospace
10
15
20
25
30
35
v, W)
1t
Ygure
4:
300
PP-GF
itj
100
ranging
polypropylene
from
reinforced
glass
fibre
(PP) to
polyamide
3) LFT
combinreincarbon
(PA) have
strength
of the LFT
reinforced
in
stiff-
PP and
12.5 mm
25 mm
.-.'_
50
10
15
20
v, WI
44
ations
forced
fibre
(Figure
fibre/matrix
=?Ix
0
and
of
of Technology,
Engineering,
Centre
(CLS TUD-TNO), a
A(
5000
machine
At
PP-GF
PA12-CF (25 mm)
GMT
10000
15000
this
different
sector.
E
w
Using
with
motive
25000
20000
TN0 Industrial
Technology,
research is
being directed LFT. As part of this work a
patented piston-blender
has been developed for melting the LFT while conserv-
faculty
inserted
of processing
been processed
its
Lightweight
LFT material
construction,
investments.
simple
cost is only a fraction of that of conventional LFT extruders and it offers the pos-
REINFoRCEDplastics
I un e 2 00 1
25
30
35