Considerable interest has been generated in the last years in the use of thermoplastics polymers as matrices in advanced composites manufacturing. In this research, a new Elium® acrylic matrix developed by Arkema has been studied to evaluate the influence of different benzoyl peroxide initiator (Luperox®78) contents on the polymerization reactions for Elium®150. For that, thermal and rheological analyses were performed providing a better understanding of these reactions. The results show that the initiator concentration and temperature affect the resin's properties not only in the initiation step, but also in the resin's complete polymerization reaction. Besides that, it was observed that the initiator concentration can also affect the polymer chain lengths, which may lead to variations in the dynamic mechanical properties and thermal stability of the polymer.
The commingled technology is a promising technique for the manufacture of composites reinforced with natural fibers. This study presents the development, processing and basic characterization of a long fiber Jute/Polypropylene (Jute/PP) commingled composite. The Jute/PP fabric was produced in a handloom and the composite was consolidated by compression molding. The PP matrix was chemically and thermally characterized to certify its chemical composition and define its melting and crystallization temperatures. The degradation behavior of jute fibers was also studied by Friedman's kinetic isoconversional model using thermogravimetric analyses (TGA). The mechanical properties of jute reinforcement and Jute/PP composite were characterized by tensile strength tests and by fractographic study of the fracture surfaces. Its tensile strength (44.62±6.02 MPa) and elasticity modulus (7.10±2.34 GPa) are approximate to the ones obtained by other processing techniques, suggesting that the developed commingled process can work as a low cost and practical alternative methodology for manufacturing of more sustainable composites in industries.
The final properties of advanced composite parts manufactured from prepregs are strongly dependent on the combination of raw materials' properties and manufacturing parameters. Therefore, monitoring techniques that can characterize the prepreg cure advancement and the effects of this advancement on the curing process are of great interest to composite industries. In the present work, dielectric analyses were performed using a previously developed simple and low-cost device, as a successful alternative to track prepreg out-time and the specificities of aged prepregs curing process. The findings point out that, despite the temperature and humidity influence in the measurements, models for estimating prepreg out-times can be developed based on dielectric analyses results. Also, the dielectric properties can signalize the necessity of cure parameters adjustments, which might lead to the extension of prepreg out-time limits without significant detriment to the performance of the final part.
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