Net shape and property tailoring of intermingled yarns textile preforms reinforced with thermoplastic matrices

Objective

Composites with continuous fibres offer an extreme strenght and stiffness to weight ratio, wich leads to high loaded lightweight structures; Textiles prepegs with unidirectional fibres offer a hight degree of utilisation but are limited in their deformation behaviour to produce complex parts in an effcient way of medium and large series production, without wrinkles, fibre distorsion and voids. Knitted fabrics offer partial solutions of these problems (high deformation and drapability, no wrinkles) but do not reach the expected results, because of their delicate handling, poor mechanical properties, high void content and, mainly, the difficulty for obtained net shape preforrns. Fabrics with intermingled or comingled yarns, because of the flexibility of the process, offer unlimited solutions for net shape preforming, with local reinforcements. It can be foreseen that the low production price of these structures will reduce production costs of structural parts by a high percentage. The nearly unlimited drapability, combined with fast processing cycles and thermoplastic matrices will open the applications field of automotive industry for composites and also for secondary structures in aeronautic industry by drastic price reduction and net shape processing.

Programme(s)

• FP4-BRITE/EURAM 3 - Specific research and technological development programme in the field of industrial and materials technologies, 1994-1998

Topic(s)

• 0101 - Incorporation of new technologies into production systems

Funding Scheme

EAW - Exploratory awards

Coordinator

Plasnor SA

Address

S/n,barrio Motxorro S/n
20230 Legazpi
Spain