The Role Of Ply Orientation On The Resin Flow Under Compaction In Thermoplastic Composites

Abstract

In this study, a gap filling methodology was used to evaluate the flow behaviour of carbon fibre reinforced polyphenylene sulphide (CF/PPS) tapes under various compaction conditions (force and time) and layups. At each side of the gap, a different layup was present: 0/0 and 0/90. It was observed that squeeze flow occurred under all compaction forces and times, increasing with them. The layup influenced the squeeze flow development significantly, particularly visible in the change of the 0° fibre angle of the substrate across the gap. This fibre angle increased from the 0/90 to the 0/0, as the latter showed more squeeze flow than the former due to the parallel layup. The change of fibre angle across the substrate’s width was indicative of the extent of the squeeze flow along its width. The percolation flow increased with compaction force and time, and both longitudinal and transverse flow were found. Longitudinal flow was visible at larger compaction forces, whereas transverse flow was the only flow found at lower ones. The development of transverse over longitudinal percolation flow is influenced by the layup, the sample configuration and the squeeze flow.