IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i18p5790-d635098.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Thermoplastic RTM: Impact Properties of Anionically Polymerised Polyamide 6 Composites for Structural Automotive Parts

Author

Listed:
  • James J. Murray

    (School of Engineering, Institute for Materials and Processes, Sanderson Building, The University of Edinburgh, Robert Stevenson Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FB, Scotland, UK)

  • Tom Allen

    (Centre for Advanced Composite Materials, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, Gate 3, 314-390 Khyber Pass Road, Newmarket, Auckland 1023, New Zealand)

  • Simon Bickerton

    (Centre for Advanced Composite Materials, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, Gate 3, 314-390 Khyber Pass Road, Newmarket, Auckland 1023, New Zealand)

  • Ankur Bajpai

    (School of Engineering, Institute for Materials and Processes, Sanderson Building, The University of Edinburgh, Robert Stevenson Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FB, Scotland, UK)

  • Klaus Gleich

    (Johns Manville Europe GmbH, Werner-Schuller-Str.1, 97877 Wertheim, Germany)

  • Edward D. McCarthy

    (School of Engineering, Institute for Materials and Processes, Sanderson Building, The University of Edinburgh, Robert Stevenson Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FB, Scotland, UK)

  • Conchúr M. Ó Brádaigh

    (School of Engineering, Institute for Materials and Processes, Sanderson Building, The University of Edinburgh, Robert Stevenson Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FB, Scotland, UK)

Abstract

This study investigates the impact behaviour and post-impact performance of polyamide-6 glass fibre reinforced composites, manufactured by thermoplastic resin transfer moulding. Impact test samples were extracted from quasi-isotropic laminates using two different glass fibre sizings, both with a fibre volume fraction of approximately 52%. A previous study showed that one of these sizings enhanced the interfacial strength and Mode I fracture toughness; however, the effects of the sizing on out-of-plane impact is of greater significance in terms of automotive applications. A drop-weight impact tester was used to determine out-of-plane impact performance for both sizings in terms of impact load-induced and energy returned from the striker. High-speed video of the impact response was simultaneously captured. Testing was carried out at three impact energy levels: two sub-penetration and one full penetration. The impact damage area was observed, and the post-damage compression properties of samples were measured to determine the reduction in their strength and stiffness. Results showed that the use of different sizing technologies had little effect on the post-impact compressive properties and that penetration led to only a 29% drop in compression strength. Overall, the outcomes of this work demonstrate the potential of these materials in automotive applications.

Suggested Citation

  • James J. Murray & Tom Allen & Simon Bickerton & Ankur Bajpai & Klaus Gleich & Edward D. McCarthy & Conchúr M. Ó Brádaigh, 2021. "Thermoplastic RTM: Impact Properties of Anionically Polymerised Polyamide 6 Composites for Structural Automotive Parts," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-14, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:18:p:5790-:d:635098
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/18/5790/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/18/5790/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:18:p:5790-:d:635098. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.