Gold Open Access
Green Open AccessEvaluation of a thermal consolidation process for the production of enhanced technical fabrics
Journal
Machines
Date Issued
August 2021
Abstract
Fiber reinforced composites are increasingly used in high value applications. A novel technology (NanoWeld® ) enhancing the structural integrity of the interlayer has demonstrated promising results; however, manufacturing issues related to scalability need to be overcome. The developed technology relies on consolidating thermoplastic nanofiber nonwoven veils onto technical dry fabrics through roll-to-roll ultrasonic welding. The enhanced technical dry fabrics can be further processed as any other technical fabrics for the composites industry. An alternative solution for consolidation is proposed here, based on a thermo-compressive approach to address the scala-bility issue. A finite element model has been employed to simulate the operating conditions and provide information for optimization of the process. Its results demonstrate that consolidation is achieved rapidly, indicating that the production rate could be accelerated. The quality of enhanced technical dry fabrics produced using the proposed consolidation assembly has been evaluated using scanning electron microscopy as well as mechanical testing of fiber reinforced composites. The mechanical response of such manufactured composites has been compared against benchmark Nan-oWeld® composites, demonstrating superior performance.
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Name
machines-09-00143-v2.pdf
Size
14.73 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
069b882b3ec9935b559a055f91cd199d
Scopus Subject Areas
Control and Systems Engineering
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Computer Science (miscellaneous)
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Mechanical Engineering
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Control and Optimization
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Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
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Electrical and Electronic Engineering