Manufacturers of composite materials have been developing high strength fiber reinforced composites with thermoplastic matrix systems exhibiting enhanced performance in fracture toughness and damage tolerance with the potential of reduced manufacturing cost for both primary and secondary structure components. A review will be made of principal thermoplastic matrix systems and processing methods used to fabricate the fiber reinforced composites, which have been developed during recent years. Included is a comparison of the neat matrix resins' chemical structure, thermal/tensile properties, fracture toughness, melt viscosity, solvent resistance, morphology and melt processability. The matrix-dominated mechanical properties of thermoplastic composites are given, including flexural, short beam shear and compression strengths, interlaminar fracture toughness and/or compression-after-impact performance. Innovative process development in thermoplastic composites including thermoformable sheets, filament winding, 3D braiding and impregnation will also be reviewed and discussed.
An experimental study of the tensile strength of unidirectional short fiber reinforced plastics is reported. The data indicate agreement with existing theories as modified to suit plastics. The theory is extrapolated to provide a means for computing the strength of a random composite.
An experimental study of the tensile modulus of unidirectional short fiber reinforced plastics is reported. The data show poor agreement with the theories for the longitudinal case but better agreement in the other cases. A semi‐empirical theory is proposed to explain the longitudinal modulus data.
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