Wet impregnation as route to unidirectional carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites manufacturing

Processing of unidirectional (UD) carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites using a laboratory scale modular composite line was investigated. Thin continuous tapes were manufactured from a 12k carbon fibre tow via wet impregnation impregnated using a slurry based polymer suspension. Hardware design as well as processing parameters influencing the tape quality and the fibre volume content of the resulting tapes, is discussed. Two different grades of polyetheretherketone were used for in-house manufacturing of UD carbon fibre reinforced composite tapes. Laminates were prepared from the manufactured tapes via compression moulding and tested. Results from short beam strength, flexural and compression tests show that the properties of the manufactured composites match the properties of commercially available aromatic polymer composites (APC2). The flexibility of the process is demonstrated, showing that it is also possible to manufacture unidirectional carbon fibre reinforced polyvinylidene fluoride composites.