Application of Glass Fiber and Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastics in Face Guards

Abstract

Face guards (FGs) are protectors that allow for the rapid and safe return of athletes who are to play after sustaining traumatic facial injuries and orbital fractures. Current FGs require significant thickness to achieve sufficient shock absorption abilities. However, their weight and thickness render the FGs uncomfortable and reduce the field of vision of the athlete, thus hindering their performance. Therefore, thin and lightweight FGs are required. We fabricated FGs using commercial glass fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (GFRTP) and carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) resins to achieve these requirements and investigated their shock absorption abilities through impact testing. The results showed that an FG composed of CFRTP is thinner and lighter than a conventional FG and has sufficient shock absorption ability. The fabrication method of an FG comprising CFRTP is similar to the conventional method. FGs composed of commercial FRTPs exhibit adequate shock absorption abilities and are thinner and lower in weight as compared to conventional FGs.

A General and Efficient Approach for the Dual-Scale Infiltration Flow Balancing in In Situ Injection Molding of Continuous Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites

“…Continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastics (CFRTs) are sustainable composite materials [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ], which have great potential in automobiles [ 5 ], face guards [ 6 ] and other industrial fields where lightweight [ 7 ], environmentally-friendly [ 8 ] and good mechanical properties are needed. In recent years, the preparation of CFRTs has also attracted the close attention of scholars [ 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”