The effect of the interphase/interface region on the static mechanical properties, creep and creep rupture behavior of thermoplastic (J2) composites was investigated. The mechanical properties of the J2 composites were altered by systematic changes in fiber surface chemistry. Four fiber systems were used including the AU4, AS4(1) & (2), and AS4CGP fibers. (AS4(1) and AS4(2) represent different batch numbers.) Surface energies and chemistry of carbon fibers were examined using the Dynamic Contact Angle (DCA) method and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The meso indentation technique was used to measure the interfacial shear strengths (ISS) of the composites. For the same batch of the composites, the ISS ratios for AS4(2)/J2 to AU4/J2 and AS4CGP/J2 to AU4/J2 were 1.22 and 1.24, respectively. The mechanical properties of these composites in the fiber direction were insensitive to the ISS. The transverse and shear moduli of the J2 composites were also not affected by the ISS. The static strengths, in general, ordered themselves from strong to weak as follows: AS4(2)/J2> AS4CGP/J2> AU4/J2. However, the creep rupture strength revealed a different ordering: AS4CGP/J2> AS4(2)/J2> AU4/J2. This suggests that static mechanical properties may not be a good indicator for long term mechanical performance. Experimental results showed that the interphase/interface region did not affect the degradation rates of the creep rupture strength of the J2 composites. DMA creep tests were performed at elevated temperatures for J2 composites. A master curve of each composite was generated. The shift factors obeyed the Arrhenius type equation. The activation energies of composites were approximately the same. The creep response of the AU4/J2, AS4(2)/J2, and AS4CGP/J2 composites were not dependent upon the ISS. Severe delaminations were observed in the AS4(1)/Jd2 composite laminates. The ([±45/90₂]_s) laminate tensile strength of AS4(1)/J2 composite was less than that of AS4(2)/J2 and AS4CGP/J2 composite. The creep rupture strength of the AS4(1)/J2 composite laminates degraded about two times faster than that of the other three composite systems. / Ph. D.

High glass transition (eg. 360 °C) melt processable thermoplastic polyimide homopolymers and poly(imide-siloxane) segmented copolymers were prepared from a number of diamines and dianhydrides via solution imidization, polydimethylsiloxane segment incorporation and molecular weight control with non-reactive phthalimide end-groups. The adhesive bond performance of these polyimides was investigated as a function of molecular weight, siloxane incorporation, residual solvent, test temperature, and polyimide structure via single lap shear samples prepared from treated Ti-6AI-4V alloy adherends and compression molded film adhesives or scrim cloth adhesives. The adhesive bond strengths increased greatly with siloxane segment incorporation at 10, 20 and 30 weight percent, and decreased slightly with total polymer molecular weight. As the test temperature was increased, adhesive bond strength increased, decreased or showed a maximum at some temperatures depending on the polyimide structure and siloxane content. The presence of residual solvent increased adhesive bond strength at ambient temperature but decreased the strength at the elevated temperatures. The variation of adhesive bond strength with residual solvent, siloxane and test temperature was attributed to the influence of these parameters on the brittle-ductile transition behavior of the polyimide system. This conclusion was supported by stress-strain measurements which indicated that tensile strength and modulus decreased with siloxane concentration and test temperature, demonstrating that there was an optimum combination of strength and strain for maximum adhesive bond strength. A model was developed to describe this behavior. The poly(imide-30%siloxane) segmented copolymer and a miscible poly(ether-imide) also demonstrated excellent adhesive bond strength with poly(arylene ether ketone) PEEK®-graphite composites. Oxygen or ammonia gas plasma treatment was very effective in further improving adhesive bond strength of melt laminated PEEK®-graphite composites. / Ph. D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio University, November, 2000. / Title from PDF t.p.

Thesis (M.Sc.(Chemical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-80).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Additional advisors: Derrick R. Dean, Alan W. Eberhardt, Ramana G. Reddy, Uday K. Vaidya. Description based on contents viewed Feb. 13, 2009; title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1997. / "UMI number: 9724066"--T.p. verso. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 182-189). Available electronically via Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Aug. 3, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p.129-132). Also issued in print.

No description available.

Environmental issues enforce transportation sectors to limit their carbon dioxide emissions in various ways. Automotive manufacturers attempt to reduce carbon dioxide emission by seeking various strategies, e.g., increasing aerodynamic efficiency, using more fuel-efficient engines, reducing friction and wear of transmission systems, and, most importantly, by using lightweight materials and structures. This dissertation is a contribution toward a lightweight design of structures by proposing numerical models suitable for damage prediction of thermoplastic composite materials. In this dissertation, predictive damage models for two different length scales, namely micromechanics, and mesomechanics, were proposed. Micromechanics is used to predict the nonlinear damage behavior of elementary thermoplastic composite ply, while the mesomechanics is used to predict the failure behavior of thermoplastic composite laminates (test coupon or plate scale). For the micromechanics, a representative volume element (RVE) of such materials was rigorously determined using a geometrical two-point probability function and the eigenvalue stabilization of homogenized elastic tensor obtained by Hill-Mandel kinematic homogenization. We proposed a viscoelastic viscoplastic model for the polypropylene matrix to extend the capability of the micromechanics model in predicting the damage behavior of the composite ply at higher rates. At the mesoscale, we improved the classical mesomechanics damage modeling in the off-axis direction by introducing the confinement effect. The pragmatic approach consists of separating the progressive damage into two parts, namely “diffuse damage regime” and “transverse-cracking regime”, were described by two distinct damage parameters. We also enriched the mesomechanics model by proposing a viscoelastic and viscoplastic model to account for the rate-dependent behavior of the thermoplastic composites. We showed that the predictions given by the proposed micromechanics and mesomechanics models were in excellent agreement with the experimental results in terms of the global stress-strain curves, including the linear and nonlinear portion of the response and also the failure point, making it useful virtual testing tools for the design of thermoplastic composites.

Thermoset resin based fibre reinforced polymer-matrix composite materials (PMCs) have provided excellent solutions to many industries based on their great specific strength, high design freedom and other characteristics such as water resistance, corrosion resistance, tailorable electrical conductivity, tailorable thermal performance and many others. But, despite of all their benefits, the materials are also limited by uneconomical recycling and management post service life, demanding raw materials storage conditions, less than ideal environmental impact during manufacturing, and relatively low productivity. The purpose of the present work was to investigate economically feasible production of a continuous fibre reinforced thermoplastic composite (CFRTP) alternative solution, for an existing company, that could overcome weak points and limitations of thermosets under increasing environmental needs and pursuit of higher efficiency. Work aimed at fulfilling the following objectives: 1) document existing thermoplastic composite materials and understand selected manufacturing methods, raw materials, mechanical behaviour and operational feasibility; 2) select, design, and build a fully functional CFRTP manufacturing line; 3) design and run Taguchi methods to analyze the product using multifactorial ANOVA to gently introduce rigorous quality control; and 4) identify the input parameters that most affect output product quality, that could be used to optimize the process, as well as input parameters that have no statistically significant effects on the output and therefore do not warrant investment in funds and time in order to control them. Throughout the work, it was showed that CFRTP could been produced efficiently with consistent quality. Unidirectional prepreg can be used directly or further processed for usage in many industries such as pipelines, light construction and automotive components. The design of the CFRTP solution fulfilled necessary conditions and successfully produced CFRTP unidirectional prepreg product. Prepreg produced under 16 different sets of conditions was tested and data was collected. Using Taguchi methods, this study found that the fibre volume fraction, condition of impregnation mould, condition of cooling rollers and extruding temperature all have statistically significant effects on product quality. But limited by restriction from time and cost by production based environments, it is imperative to conduct this work perfectly, in later research a more focused study can be done based on the results of this study. Still, thesis demonstrates a CFRTP mass production solution, verifies CFRTP impregnation and offers a significant route for upgrading environmental protection and production efficiency. The work also identifies key parameters that affect unidirectional prepregs properties.