Transcrystallization phenomena is a key issue to master for better understanding the role on the fiber‐matrix interface in composites materials behavior during and after processing. In this paper, a non‐isothermal kinetics model is presented to consider crystallization in fiber‐based composite with thermoplastic matrix. The model extends Schneider's formulation to describe the development of transcrystalline layers around fibers. It also mentions the possibility to easily account for shear and flow conditions in addition to the transcrystallinity. Another approach, based on the volume fractions, giving the same results, is also introduced for comparison. Then, a parametric study is proposed in order to demonstrate the relevance of the developed model by comparing its results to well‐known expecting behavior from the literature. Finally, an attempt is made to compare this model to the one proposed previously in the literature by Durin and al. after correcting some unclear points in the latter.
A numerical model is presented to simulate the crystallization kinetics in fiber-based composite with thermoplastic semicrystalline matrix. The proposed model, based on Schneider's formalism, considers the specificity of crystalline entities growing in confined medium such as fibrous composite. Indeed, transcrystallization has been experimentally observed many times and its effects on both kinetics and mechanical properties have been largely demonstrated. As an application, this paper aims at illustrating this former effect with a finite element (FE) simulation of the cooling down of a plate. The simulated materials are polypropylene alone and a fiber-based composite with a polypropylene matrix. Information on the temperature, the rate of transformation and the microstructure are obtained from both materials and compared to emphasize the contribution of transcrystallization.
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