Introduction

A composite, in general, is defined as a combination of two or more components

differing in form or composition on a macroscale

The mixture of reinforcement/resin does not really become a composite material

until the last phase of the fabrication.

Why the fabrication it’s so important ?

With fabrication it would be impossible to modify the material, as in the way one
would like to modify the structure of a metal alloy using heat treatment, for
example.

The selestion of a fabrication process obviously depends on the constituent

material in the composite.
 Reinforcing Agents

1. Particulate reinforcing agents:

Particulate composite reinforcing agents can be divided into two groups:

Organic thermal stability with low densities
ex : powdered cellulose, powdered rubber,
a wide variety of starches, particulate carbon.
 inorganic
ex: Silica and some simple metal oxides
(like alumina), glass , clay

2. Fibre reinforcing agents:

Natural (organic) reinforcing fibres
Ex: cellulosics are the most important applied as chopped cloth, fabric or
yarn
Organic synthetic fibres
Ex : nylons, polyethylene, polypropylene and aramids (Kevlar and
Nomex)
Inorganic natural fibres
Ex: asbestos and glass fibres, boron and
ceramic fibres
 Fibre Forms

1. Rovings

Rovings (also called tows), refers to a group of essentially parallel strands of fibres
that have been gathered into a ribbon and wound onto a cylindrical tube.

2. Yarns
Yarns are obtained by combining single strands by twisting and plying, i.e., they
are produced by simply twisting two or more single strands together and
subsequently plying.
3. Chopped strands
Continuous rovings or strands can be chopped into short lengths, usually
between 3 to 50 mm long.
Chopped strands are available with different sizings for compatibility with most
plastics, the amount and type of size having a major influence on the integrity of
the strand before and after chopping.

Chopped strands fiberglass

Chopped strand carbon fiber
4. Mats

A mat is a blanket of chopped strand or of continuous strands laid down as a

continuous thin flat sheet.
5. Woven rovings

Woven rovings are produced by weaving fibre glass rovings into a fabric form.
This yields a coarse product that is used in many hand lay-up and panel moulding
processes to produce fibre-reinforced polymers.
Braids Knits
 PROCESSING OF FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITES

Pultrusion
Pultrusion is used for the manufacture of components having continuous lengths and a
constant cross sectional shape. With this technique continous fiber rovings/tow are first
impregmented with a thermo-Setting resin, these are then pulled through a steel die
which performs to the desired and also establish the resin/fiber ratio.
1. Reinforcement
2. Pultrusion die
3. Pulling unit
4. Sawing unit
Prepeg Production Process

Prepeg is the composite industry’s term for continous fiber reincforment pre-
impregnated with a polymer resin that only partially cured.
Filament Winding

Filament winding is a process by which continuous reinforcing fiber are accurately

positioned in a determined pattern form a hallow shape.
 MOLDING PROCESSES
(PROCESSING OF COMPOSITES)

Forming by molding processes varies depending on the nature of the part, the
number of parts, and the cost.

The mold material can be made of metal, polymer, wood, or plaster.

Open Molding

Molding Process

Closed Molding
 A. OPEN MOLDING/CONTACT MOLDING
Only one mould surface is used in open mould process.

This single mould represents either the positive (male plug) or negative (female cavity)
surface

In order to produce large components and structures, (for instance swimming pools,
boat hulls, etc.) very large moulds are usually used.
Filler: E-glass fibres (mats, woven roving, yarns)

Matriks: thermosetting resins of epoxy and polyester

Depending on the desired thickness, matrix resins and reinforcement fibres are
applied to the mould surface layer by layer  laying process (if we use of prepregs
may simplify the laying process)  curing treatment for rigid thermoset matrices
(depending on the type of resin used, little or no pressure will be necessary during
curing).
Hand lay-up

Hand lay-up, which is one of the oldest open mould composite processing methods.

Hand lay-up is a composite laminating process in which layers of resin and

reinforcement are applied manually onto an open mould surface one by one until the
desired thickness of the component is obtained.

There are five main steps in lay-up procedures: cleaning, gel coating, laying-up,
curing,
and part removal.
Hand lay-up procedure:
1. Mould is cleaned and treated with a mould release agent
2. A thin gel coat (resin, possibly pigmented to colour) is applied, which will become the
outside surface of the moulding
3. When the gel coat has partially set, successive layers of resin and fibre are applied, the
fibre being in the form of mat or cloth; each layer is rolled to fully impregnate the fibre
with resin and remove air bubbles
4. The part is cured
5. The fully hardened part is removed from the mould.
Spray-up

Spray-up is another alternative of the third step of the open mould wet lay-up
process.

It helps to automate the application of the matrix resin and reinforcement fibre
layers, thereby reducing the time period required in the manual lay-up procedure.

The equipment necessary in the spray-up process includes: a spray gun, a glass fibre
chopper attachment and a pumping system.
Chopped fibres and the liquid matrix resin, are sprayed onto an open mould surface
until the desired thickness of the composite lamination is obtained by successive
layers.
Spray-up may also be used in applying the gel coat to the mould surface before hand
lay-up and spray-up processes.
 B. Closed Mould
With closed molding, the countermold will close the mold after the impregnated
reinforcements have been placed on the mold.

Among the various techniques used in

closed mould processes are:

 Transfer moulding
 Compression moulding
 Injection moulding
a)Transfer moulding - in which a resin is transferred from a reservoir into a three
dimensional closed heated mould, with curing taking place due to the temperature of
the resin and the mould. By this technique pre-placed layers of fabrics in the closed
mould are processed where, in a subsequent stage, resin is introduced into the mould
by pressure and/or vacuum. Transfer moulding fabrication methods include RTM.
b) Compression moulding - where a pre-weighted amount of premixed compound
is placed in a heated three-dimensional mould.

With compression molding , the countermold will close the mold after the impregnated
reinforcements have been placed on the mold

As the mould closes, the material flows and fills the mould cavity. Simultaneously with
the flow stage, curing takes place and it continues while pressure is applied when the
mould is in a closed position.

The wholeassembly is placed in a press that can apply a pressure of 1 to 2 bars. This
has application for automotive and aerospace parts.
c) Injection moulding - in this process, a thermoplastic or a thermoset system is
injected under high pressure into a closed three-dimensional cavity, which is
held at low or high temperature, respectively.
Cooling and solidification of the thermoplastic-based system or curing of the
thermosetting system take place while the material is under high pressure.

Resin Injection Molding

Injection
moulding
Molding by Injection of Premixed
Resin Injection Molding

With resin injection molding, the reinforcements (mats, fabrics) are put in place
between the mold and countermold. The resin (polyester or phenolic) is injected.
The mold pressure is low. This process can produce up to 30 pieces per day. The
investment is less costly and has application in automobile bodies.
Molding by Injection of Premixed

The process of molding by injection of premixed allows automation of the fabrication

cycle (rate of production up to 300 pieces per day).
Thermoset resins:
Can be used to make components of auto body.
Thermoplastic resins:
Can be used to make mechanical components
Molding with Vacuum

This process of molding with vacuum is still called depression molding or bag
molding.
As in the case of contact molding described previously, one uses an open mold on top
of which the impregnated reinforcements are placed.
Autoclaves
An autoclave system is a pressure vessel where a complex chemical reaction occurs inside
according to a specified schedule (cure cycle) in order to process a variety of materials.
With the developments in materials and processes, autoclave operating conditions go up
to 700 °C and 15 MPa. The materials processed in autoclaves include metal bonding
adhesives, thermoplastic laminates, metal, ceramic and carbon matrix materials, as well
as other aerospace and electronic components.