Title: Thermoforming of Thermoplastic Mono-Material Sandwich Structures with Honeycomb Core

Authors: Temuri Latsuzbaya, Peter Middendorf,Dietmar Voelkle, Christoph Weber

DOI: 10.33599/nasampe/s.22.0676

Abstract: The application of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic mono-material sandwich panels has many advantages such as recyclability, reduction of processing cycle times, integration of additional elements by means of welding and possible in-line production. The main challenge in this work is to define the optimal thermoforming process window, since it is limited by two phenomena. On the one hand, the skin-core-interface shall be heated above the softening temperature to achieve the sufficient bonding quality. On the other hand, the core shall not be overheated and overloaded to avoid its collapse. In order to ensure these conditions, thermal analysis of the sandwich structure was performed. Based on the numerical approach, the temperature distribution was simulated during the thermoforming process. To validate the simulation results, experimental trials were conducted, which demonstrated a good agreement with the heat transfer model.

References: 1. Grünewald, J., Parlevliet, P.P. and Altstädt, V. “Manufacturing of Thermoplastic Composite Sandwich Structures: a Review of Literature.” Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials 30 (2017): 437-464 2. Neumeyer, T., Kroeger, T., Knoechel, J.F., Schreier, P., Muehlbacher, M. and Altstaedt, V. “Thermoplastic Sandwich Structures - Processing Approaches Towards Automotive Serial Production.” Proceedings of 21th International Conference on Composite Materials. Xi’an, China, August 20-25, 2017. Chinese Society for Composite Materials. 3. Latsuzbaya, T., Middendorf, P., Voelkle, D. and Weber, C. “Bonding of Adhesive-free Thermoplastic Sandwich Panels with Honeycomb Core for Aircraft Interiors.” Proceedings of SAMPE Europe Conference. Baden, Switzerland, September 29-30, 2021, SAMPE Europe. 4. Trende, A. and Åström, B.T. “Heat Transfer in Compression Molding of Thermoplastic Composite Laminates and Sandwich Panels.” Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials 15 (2002): 43-63 5. Renault, Thierry. “Sandwiform: Thermoplastic composites sandwich structures.” Society of Manufacturing Engineers 126 (2002) 6. Breuer, U., Ostgathe, M. and Neitzel, M. “Manufacturing of All-Thermoplastic Sandwich Systems by a One-Step Forming Technique.” Polymer Composites 19 (1998): 275-279. 7. Rozant, O., Bourban, P.-E. and Manson, J.-A.E. “Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Forming of Thermoplastic Sandwiches.” Proceedings of 12th International Conference on Composite Materials. Paris, France, July 5-9, 1999. Woodhead Publishing. 8. Rozant, O., Bourban, P.-E., Manson, J.-A.E. and Drezet, J.-M. “Pre-Heating of Thermoplastic Sandwich Materials for Rapid Thermoforming.” Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials 13 (2000): 510-523. 9. Rozant, O., Bourban, P.-E. and Manson, J.-A.E. “Manufacturing of Three Dimensional Sandwich Parts by Direct Thermoforming.” Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 32 (2001): 1593-1601. 10. RADIOSS User’s Manual, Version 2017, Altair Engineering Inc., 2017 11. Skawinski, O., Binetruy, C., Krawczak, P., Grando, J. and Bonneau, E. “All-thermoplastic Composite Sandwich Panels - Part I: Manufacturing and Improvement of Surface Quality.” Journal of Sandwich Structures and Materials 6 (2004): 399 - 420

Conference: SAMPE 2022

Publication Date: 2022/05/23

SKU: TP22-0000000676

Pages: 11

Price: $22.00