Unger notes the AFP speed of 200 mm/s for the in-situ consolidated CF/PAEK laminate is more than twice that claimed by Henri de Vries, senior scientist, composites, in the Structures Technology Dept. We achieved the same consolidation properties as in the PEKK 2-step panel.” We then made an equivalent laminate using the same AFP machine but this time using TC1225 CF/LM PAEK tape without any secondary OOA/VBO consolidation step - i.e., full in-situ consolidation via AFP. “We also fiber placed the TC1320 material at 200 mm/s and found that the porosity between the plies was not eliminated with the slower speed. We then consolidated this laminate using vacuum bag only in an oven.” He acknowledged there was porosity in between the plies due to the rapid AFP layup, but these voids were remediated during the second consolidation step, illustrated in the photo micrographs of the laminate. “We made TC1320 CF/PEKK laminates using a Coriolis laser AFP machine at the ThermoPlastic composites Research Center ( TPRC) in Twente, The Netherlands,” says Unger, “at a rapid speed of 600 mm/s. This last point was demonstrated in a laminate-to-laminate comparison. Hans Luinge, director of thermoplastic composites research & product development for TenCate, recapped the difference in melt temperatures:ĬF/PAEK made with AFP in-situ consolidation (no secondary step) showed the same consolidation properties as CF/PEKK made with rapid AFP + consolidation in oven (top). Photo Credit: Toray Advanced Composites These materials are used in applications supported by TenCate’s Aerospace and Industrial divisions, as well as more mass market products like consumer electronics and athletic shoes via the company’s Performance Composites division.ĭuring the interviews for my series on in-situ consolidated thermoplastics, Low Melt PAEK came up as a potential alternative to PEEK and PEKK in the quest for faster processing. The company has a long track record with the complete range of thermoplastics (see graphic below). Its Cetex brand is well known for prepreg and preconsolidated laminates (also called organosheet) but also extends to bulk molding compound (BMC) as well as unidirectional (UD) and woven tapes. Through its acquisition of TenCate Advanced Composites in 2018, TAC claims more than 40 years of experience in developing thermoplastic composites. Photo Credit: TAC (top), Tri-Mack Plastics (bottom) with PEEK, PAEK added by CW. And low-melt polyaryletherketone ( LM-PAEK) is now another option.Ĭetex thermoplastic tapes are available in a wide variety of matrix polymers from lower melt temperature/performance to higher melt temperature/performance. Since that time, much work has been done to prove out polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) and polyetheretherketone (PEEK) materials. TPCs have been flying on aircraft since the 1990s and in primary structure since 2010 - Gulfstream’s G650 features a carbon fiber/polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) rudder and elevator produced by GKN Aerospace’s (Solihull, U.K.) aerostructures business GKN Fokker (Hoogeveen, Netherlands) using Cetex prepreg supplied by Toray Advanced Composites (TAC, previously TenCate Advanced Composites, Nijverdal, Netherlands). PEEK or PEKK in future TPC aerostructures?.Thermoplastic composite demonstrators - EU roadmap for future airframes.Consolidating thermoplastic composite aerostructures in place, Part 2.Consolidating thermoplastic composite aerostructures in place, Part 1.This is a follow-up to the recent series of articles on thermoplastic composites (TPCs) that I have written (see below) plus the thermoplastic tapes feature Jeff Sloan wrote in the February 2018 issue.
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