Preparation and Analysis of High‐Performance Thermoplastic Composites

Széplaki, Péter and Hajagos, Szabolcs and Krizsma, Szabolcs and Zink, Béla and Suplicz, András (2025) Preparation and Analysis of High‐Performance Thermoplastic Composites. POLYMER COMPOSITES. pp. 1-12. ISSN 0272-8397 (In Press)

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Abstract

As the plastics industry continues to grow, the amount of plastic waste increases. The European Union is trying to reduce the amount of plastic waste through various actions. Recycling is perhaps the best way to achieve this. The importance of polymer composites has increased dramatically, and thanks to the spread of thermoplastic resin transfer molding (T-RTM), composites can be produced very efficiently. This is because ɛ-caprolactam, the monomer of polyamide 6 (PA6), can be processed at low pressures like epoxy or any other thermoset resin due to its low viscosity. PA6 is produced from ɛ-caprolactam, activator, and catalyst by in situ ring-opening polymerization in a temperature-controlled mold with sufficiently short cycle times. We produced carbon fiber–reinforced composite sheets with PA6 as the matrix material by T-RTM. A special vertical injection molding machine and the corresponding in situ unit were used for the experiments. We investigated the mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of continuous carbon fiber–reinforced composites—we performed mechanical and thermal tests on the samples and compared the results with the properties of reference sheets produced from the matrix material. Our goal was to produce high-quality and properly impregnated composite products suitable for engineering applications. Exploring these relationships is essential for creating components with high aesthetic value, which can be used in visible locations in addition to their load-bearing role.

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