Paper number 442

COMPRESSION MOULDING OF THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE SANDWICH COMPONENTS

Lance D. McGarva and B. Tomas Åström

Department of Aeronautics, Kungl Tekniska Högskolan (KTH)
SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden

Summary

The manufacturing of sandwich components from pre-consolidated glass/polyamide 12 faces and polymethacrylimide foam core by compression moulding is studied. The influence of face temperature and moulding pressure on the mechanical properties of the face-core interface were characterised in terms of fracture toughness and shear strength, evaluated using a modified double cantilever beam test and shear test. A method of integrating a recycled glass/polyamide 12 full-core insert into a sandwich component at the time of moulding is studied and found to produce structurally capable inserts. The influence of insertion temperature on the transverse tensile strength of the insert is investigated and characterized using a pull-out test. Owing to the non-linear geometrical and material behavior of the specimens observed during pull-out testing and possibly also increased fracture resistance around the insert owing to core densification, higher strength specimens failed by core shear at some distance from the insert.

Keywords

thermoplastic, sandwich, manufacturing, compression moulding, inserts, mechanical properties.