Induction heating of uni-directional carbon-fibre PEKK composites

Abstract

The usage of carbon-fibre reinforced composite materials in the aerospace industry has been steadily increasing due to their light weight solution with respect to their metal counterparts. Using thermoplastic resins gives rise to induction heating as a joining technique. Induction heating can be applied by utilising the inherent material properties of the adherends themselves. This avoids having to input a foreign material in between adherends that has to heat up the joint. It is a form of non-contact heating, it is relatively cost-effective and
it is a rapid form of heating. One of the major challenges in using induction heating is controlling the temperature distribution within adherends. The temperature distribution directly influences the quality of the bond and is controlled by numerous process parameters. Having computational models able to predict the influence of these process parameters is of key importance into optimising the bond quality in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner. This research focuses on the electromagnetic response of UD CF-PEKK laminates
on an alternating electromagnetic flux. It shows the relation between the micro-structure and electric material properties with the thermal response to an electromagnetic wave. This research fills the gap in literature by modelling this response for unidirectional laminates heated without the use of susceptor materials. These models can ultimately be used as optimisation tools within the process of continuous induction welding.