Reactive extrusion of frontally polymerizing continuous carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites
The manufacturing of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites demands rapid and energy-efficient strategies. Frontal polymerization (FP) enables the manufacturing of CFRP using dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) thermoset polymer which meets these requirements. In this work, we introduce reactive extrusion of CFRP (RE-CFRP), where two rollers provide localized heat and pressure to sustain the curing reaction and the consolidation of a continuous carbon fiber tow pre-impregnated with DCPD. We study the effect of the extrusion speed, temperature, and compaction force on the properties of the produced CFRP. Mechanical testing confirms that the resulting fiber volume fraction and the elastic modulus are similar to bulk cured tows. A homogenized thermo-chemical model is developed to study the effect of the process parameters on the polymerization reaction. The process produces hollow woven composite tubes directly via extrusion and in situ curing. Overall, this process offers advantages in curing, tooling, speed, and energy.
Authors
- Michael Zakoworotny (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4358-140X)
- Sameh Tawfick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3645-527X)
- Jacob J. Lessard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2962-6472)
- Jeffery W. Baur (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9640-4127)
- Yun Seong Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5082-4804)
- Nancy R. Sottos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5818-520X)
- Trung Bao Le (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4692-5469)
- Philippe H. Geubelle
- Nadim S. Hmeidat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9669-0426)
- Rohan Shah
- Gavin DeBrun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5950-9387)
- Jeffery S. Moore
Institutions
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)
- National Transportation Research Center (US)
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
- University of Utah (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Composites Part A Applied Science and Manufacturing
- Published
- 2024-11-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2024.108609
- Citations
- 19
- Primary Topic
- Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.87
Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
- Advanced Manufacturing Office
- Defense Sciences Office, DARPA