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International Polymer Processing, Vol.29, No.5, 660-668, 2014
The Influence of Moisture and Laminate Setup on the De-Consolidation Behavior of PA6/GF Thermoplastic Matrix Composites
Thermoplastic matrix composites enable production in short cycle times suitable for high volume production of lightweight design parts. While heating fully consolidated semi-finished products ("organo-sheets") internal stresses from their production emerge, thus causing voids. Such de-consolidation must be undone or obviated for void-free parts. In this article the influence of moisture and the laminate setup on the de-consolidation behavior of twill-weave PA6/GF laminates is investigated. The results show that moisture leads to a higher void content during de-consolidation. The laminate setup in terms of fiber-volume content preponderances the influence of moisture on the de-consolidation.