Title: Manufacturing of Transparent Glass Fiber Reinforced Composites Using Light Resin Transfer Molding Techniques with a Flexible Polycarbonate Tooling Concept

Authors: "Johannes Bauer, Klaus Heudorfer, Yavuz Caydamli, Michael R. Buchmeiser, Peter Middendorf"

DOI: 10.33599/nasampe/c.24.0250

Abstract: Recently, substantial progress in the manufacturing of transparent glass fiber-reinforced composites (tGFRP) using resin transfer molding (RTM) or related techniques has been reported [1–3]. Achieving a sufficient match of the refractive indices of the fibers and the polymer [2, 4], along with ensuring a high-quality surface finish of the tooling [2] and minimizing voids [2] within the composite material, can result in exceptional optical characteristics. Therefore, such materials might be used for applications such as lightweight safety glass or canopies for aircraft [5, 6]. To further develop the tGFRP potential, this study investigates its production using a flexible polycarbonate (PC) tooling concept. Flat and curved transparent specimens with excellent surface quality are produced by using this low-cost tooling approach. Furthermore, optical properties in the visible spectrum are discussed. Finally, the mechanical properties of the tGFRP are presented to compare them to previously RTM-manufactured specimens [2]. This study shows that it is feasible to produce a tGFRP specimen with a low-cost polycarbonate light-RTM (L-RTM) setup. The optical measurements show an outstanding average peak transmission of 77,4 % around the wavelength region of 694,0 nm. The mechanical properties are comparable to a previous publication [2] where RTM techniques were used for sample manufacturing.

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Conference: CAMX 2024 | San Diego CA

Publication Date: 2024/9/9

SKU: TP24-0000000250

Pages: 11

Price: $22.00