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MANUFACTURING PROCESS AND APPLICATIONS OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS

Article · January 2010

DOI: 10.15660/AUOFMTE.2010-2.1896

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 ANNALS of the ORADEA UNIVERSITY.
Fascicle of Management and Technological Engineering, Volume IX (XIX), 2010, NR2

MANUFACTURING PROCESS AND APPLICATIONS OF COMPOSITE

MATERIALS

POP P. Adrian1, BEJINARU MIHOC Gheorghe2

1
University of Oradea, e-mail: adippop@yahoo.com
2
“Transilvania” University of Brasov, e-mail: bejinaru_georghe@yahoo.com

KEYWORDS: composite, lightweight, matrix, reinforcement

ABSTRACT: This paper is presented some manufacturing processes of composites, as laminating, filament
winding, pultrusion, resin transfer molding, and them large applications in aeronautics, automotive, maritime,
etc. Also, a FEA of slide bearing form PA6 reinforced with glass fibers that change the slide bearing from
bimetallic used of machine tools is analyzed.

1. INTRODUCTION
The composite materials have got a widely applications in all cutting-edge ranges of
advanced materials as aeronautics, automotives, boats, sports parts and medical devices.
As a general definition, the composite material has more versions, and ones of them can
be as a material composed by the combination of two or more materials: a reinforcing
element and a compatible resin binder (matrix) to obtain specific characteristics and
properties [1-3, 6-8].
The roles of matrix in composite materials are to give shape to the composite part, protect
the reinforcements to the environment, transfer loads to reinforcements and toughness of
material, together with reinforcements.
The aims of reinforcements in composites are to get strength, stiffness and other
mechanical properties, dominate other properties as coefficient of thermal extension,
conductivity and thermal transport.
As a comparison between composites and metals, the composites materials are some
advantages as:
- Lightweight,
- High specific stiffness and strength,
- Easy moldable to complex forms,
- Easy bondable,
- Good dumping,
- Low electrical conductivity and thermal expansion,
- Good fatigue resistance,
- Part consolidation due to lower overall system costs,
- Low radar visibility,
- Internal energy storage and release.
Such as disadvantages of composites are the followings:
- Cost of materials,
- Long development time,
- Difficulty manufacturing,
- Fasteners,
- Low ductility,
- Temperature limits,
- Solvent or moister attack
- Hidden damages and damage susceptibility
All of these have made those composites to change more and more the metals, in specials
in aircrafts, automotives, marines, constructions, etc.

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Fascicle of Management and Technological Engineering, Volume IX (XIX), 2010, NR2

The most common type of composite material is fiberglass, which is very strong, fracture
readily if notched, and at compression, it buckles easily. It can be protected from damage
by encapsulating the fiberglass in a resin matrix, which transfers applied loads in the
unified fibers, due to used it both for tension and compression. A most influences about
the composite strength are get by the arrangement of fiberglass, presented in Fig.1.

Fig.1. Common forms of fiberglass [6]

After the nature of its matrix, the composites are classified in:
- Composite materials with organic matrix,
- Composite materials with metallic matrix, and
- Composite materials with ceramics matrix.
In generally, the more advanced structural composites use fiberglass, carbon/graphite,
boron, Kevlar (aramid) and other organic materials, which emphasized the main properties
as lightweight, higher strong and stiffness. These strengthening effects of fiber
reinforcements in composites are get by the percentage of fibers (fiber-resin ratio), type of
fibers and fiber orientation with respect to the direction of loads.
The term of advanced composites includes a special technology, where resin-matrix
composites can include hybrids, which are mixtures of fibers in various forms in the resin
matrix. These advanced composites denotes a resin-matrix material reinforced with high-
strength, high modulus fibers of carbon/graphite, aramid, or boron, fabricated in layers to
form an engineering components. It’s used for combination of epoxy-resin matrix materials
reinforced with oriented, continuous fibers of carbon and fabricated in a multilayer form,
assured a higher rigidity and strong structure.
An important distinguishing between composites from reinforced plastics is the fiber to
resin ratio, usually this ratio is greater than 50% fiber per weight.
This paper has the goal to presents certain manufacturing process’ techniques of composite
materials and them applications.

2. MANUFACTURING PROCESS OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS

In function of composite constructions, those can be divided in two categories [3,7]:
- Laminates, which have layers bonded together,
- Sandwiches, which are multiple-layer structural materials containing a low-
density core between thin faces (skins) of composite materials.
As an observation, can be mention that in some application of advanced composite
materials, the individual layer may themselves be composites, usually of fiber-matrix type.
Composites fabrication have many processes, some of the most important processes
are:

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Fascicle of Management and Technological Engineering, Volume IX (XIX), 2010, NR2

- Hand and automated tape lay-up,

- Resin injection,
- Compression molding,
- Pultrusion,
- Filament winding.
Other classification of composites process can be after the process volume, which due to
of two categories: high and low volume.
Low-volume processes are manual and low-pressure spray lay-up in low-cost molds with a
high working cost. High-volume processes, such as lamination, filament-winding,
pultrusion and resin transfer molding, have an initial high cost for tooling and installation,
which are compensated by low-intensity of working. In addition, lamination processes can
be found in both of them, lamination as a hand lay-up process, or as the automated using
sheet-molding compounds.
Lamination, filament winding, pultrution and resin transfer molding are relevance in
production of continuous fiber composites with closely controlled properties, being used for
obtained of comparative flat parts.
A potential and high-speed process in fabrication of tubs and other cylindrical parts
represents the filament-winding process, in which time the pultrusion process is applied for
fabrication of parts with constant cross-sectional shapes, and resin transfer molding
shares some similarities with injection molding.

2.1. Laminating Process

The laminating process is large used at fabrication of advanced materials. To improve the
process it can be used a prepreg material, which is a preimpregnated reinforced material
with high composite’s property by fibers aligned parallel to each other. A sample of
product’s form is cut off by variety proceedings and the prepreg material is fixed into
desired laminate geometry. The final workpiece is achieved by curing the stacked plies
under pressure and heat in an autoclave. For examples, the graphite-epoxy composite is
cured at aprox.1800C and at pressure of 0.7MPa, and for high-temperature composite
such as bismaleimides the cured temperature is of 3200C. The tooling is requested a mold
following a part through the lay-up and autoclaving process. As material tooling for
fabrication of composites are aluminum, steel, electroplated nickel, a high-temperature
epoxy-resin system casting, etc [1-3,5-8].
The productivity of manual lay-up can be improved by used an automated process by CNC
machines, with large applications in aerospace and automotive industry.

Fig.2. Robot system lays thermoset, thermoplastic or dry fiber [2].

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Fascicle of Management and Technological Engineering, Volume IX (XIX), 2010, NR2

2.2. Filament-winding Process

Filament-winding process is a relative slowly with possibility to control the fiber direction
and the diameter of parts can be varied along the part. During the process, roving or tape
is drawn through a resin bath and wind in a rotational mandrel. Filament-winding mandrels
may be metallic or non-metallic and assured the possibility of easy part removal or be
dissolvable after curing. The fiber bundle has various dimensions, from several thousand
of carbon fibers to several centimeters. The finished part is cured in an autoclave and later
is removed from mandrel (Fig.3).

Fig.3. Filament-winding process [6]

When the mandrel is removed, a hollow shape is the result. With this process can
be realized variety parts as pipe, tubing, pressure vessels, tanks and items of similar
shape. For enhance the structure of parts, the carbon fibers are wound with epoxy-resin
systems.

2.3. Pultrusion Process

The pultrusion process represents a continuous transportation of fiber bandles through a
resin matrix bath, following by a dropping of them into a preheated die or a set of dies.
After curing process, where the part is changed from wet saturated reinforcement to a
solid par the pultrusion is saw-cut to desired length. A flow diagram of process is showed
in Fig.4.

Fig.4. Flow diagram of pultrusion process [6]

With this process results parts with complex shapes, such as tubing, channels, I-beams, Z-
sections and flat bars.
For the composites, the pultrusion process is equivalent of metals extrusions, with
difference that at pultrution the part is pulled from the exit end of die.

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Fascicle of Management and Technological Engineering, Volume IX (XIX), 2010, NR2

2.4. Resin Transfer Molding Process

This process represents a completion between hand manufacturing lay-up or spray-up of
parts and compression molding in matched metal molds [2,3,6,7].
In resin transfer molding (RTM) process, a set of mold halves are loaded with
reinforcement material then clamped together. Resin is then pumped, or gravity fed into
the mold infusing the reinforcement material. Once the mold is filled with resin, it is
plugged and allowed to cure. After curing, the mold halves are separated and the part
removed for final trimming and finishing.
The RTM permits faster cycle times and required less work as spray-up method. The cycle
times of RMS are longer than for compression molding, but low tooling cost get
compensation, in special for a low production. Resin transfer molding produces large,
complex items such as bath and shower enclosures, cabinets, aircraft parts, and
automotive components.
As processing of composite materials are used the injection molding that is widely
automated and vacuum bagging, autoclave cure process, which is a hand lay-up or an
automated tape lay-up that must be cured by a combination of heat, pressure, vacuum,
and inert atmosphere.
The selection of adequate process of composites is made by some rules, such as type of
composites, applications, quality parts, size of production, costs, etc.

3. COMPOSITES APPLICATIONS
The advanced composite materials can be used for applications demand high strength,
high stiffness, or low thermal conductivity, which substituted many aerospace parts by
metal with these composites [1-3, 6-8].
Advanced composites contained materials such as carbon/graphite, boron or aramid fibers
in an organic resin matrix used by aerospace’s industries. The special properties of these
materials, examples lightweight, stiffness and strong materials are used from aircraft
structures to automotive and trucks parts, from spacecraft to printed circuit boards, sports
equipment, such as: the gamut for boat hulls and hokey shine guards, advanced
composite hinge for retractable arm of space shuttle.
Carbon/graphite-reinforced composites are used in many applications, which required
thermal stability, high temperature strength, good ablation characteristics and insulating
capability.
Graphite fibers are used in place where required greater strength and higher thermal
conductivity, have six times the tensile strength of carbon fibers.
Carbon fibers are used in rocket nozzle thoughts and ablation chambers, because of them
physically stability and elevated temperature.
In generally, the composite materials can change with success the metal parts in diverse
application, for example will be analysis the altering of slide bearing of bimetallic material
from machine tools with bearing of composites [4,5], by used the finite element analysis
(FEA).
The behavior at stress and deformation of bearing is made with COSMOS from
SolidWorks Simulation Xpress Program. The bearings from PA6 reinforced with glass
fibers have inner diameter=40mm, outside diameter=45mm, and length=30mm are loaded
with a pressure stress of 0.6MPa and a restrain of inner diameter of bearing is applied.
The result of this simulation of bearing in Fig.5 is presented.

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 ANNALS of the ORADEA UNIVERSITY.
Fascicle of Management and Technological Engineering, Volume IX (XIX), 2010, NR2

Static Stress Static displacement

Fig.5. FEA of PA.6 reinforced bearing with d=40mm, and p=0.6 MPa

The parameters of FEA for PA.6 reinforced bearing are: nr. of elements=10432, nr. of
nodes=17844, von Misses stress=0.69MPa, displacement=1.4·10-5 mm, which confirms
the good parameter of reinforced PA6 slide bearing used at machine-tools.

4. CONCLUSIONS
This paper has presented certain fabrication techniques of composite materials and some
applications of advances materials. The selection of adequate technique is given by type
of composites, applications, quality parts, size of production, costs, etc.
The high property of composites and large applications of them led to chance the metal
parts with composites in cutting-edge ranges of economy.

5. REFERENCES
[1] Bullen, N.G.: “Unified Composite Structures”, Manufacturing Engineering Magazine, SME Editor, Vol.144,
No.3, March 2010, pp.47-55, Dearborn, MI, USA, 2010
[2] MOREY, B.: “Innovation Drives Composite Production” Manufacturing Engineering Magazine, Society of
Manufacturing Engineer Editor, Vol. 142, No.3, March 2009, pp.49-60, Dearborn, MI, USA, 2009.
[3] MOREY, B.: “Composites Challenge Cutting Tools” Manufacturing Engineering Magazine, Society of
Manufacturing Engineer Editor, Vol. 138, No.4, April 2007, Advanced Technology Supplement 2007,
pp.AT6—AT11, Dearborn, MI, USA, 2007
[4] POP, P.A., UNGUR, P., LOPEZ-MARTINEZ, J., BEJINARU-MIHOC, G.: “Theoretical and Practical
Estimations Regarding of Borderline Conditions Imposed for Qualitative Achievement of Sliding
Bimetallic Bearings from Steel-Bronze”, Proceedings of the 2009 ASME Conference MSEC2009,
October 4-7, 2009, West Lafayette, IN, USA,, pp.1-8, 2009
[5] POP, P.A., UNGUR, P., VERES, M., GORDAN, C.:”Rheological Aspects to Horizontal Rotational Forming
of Thermoplastic Materials”, ASME Conference MSEC & ICMP2008, October 7-10, 2008, Evanston, IL,
USA, Proceedings of MSEC2008/ICMP2008, pp.1-7, 2008
[6] RUFE, P.D.: “Fundamentals of Manufacturing”, Second Edition, Society of Manufacturing Engineer Editor,
Dearborn, MI, USA, 2002
[7] STRONG, A.B.: “Fundamentals of Composite Manufacturing. Materials, Methods and Applications”,
Second Edition, SME Editor, Dearborn, MI, USA, 2008
[8] TOLINSKI, M.: “Composites Challenge Cutting Tools”, Manufacturing Engineering Magazine, SME Editor,
Vol. 138, No.4, April 2007, Advanced Technology Supplement 2007, pp.AT1—AT5, Dearborn, MI, USA,
2007.

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