Title: CHARACTERIZATION OF CARBON FIBER PEKK THERMOPLASTIC PREPREG FOR PROCESS MODELING

Authors: Tanner Leo, Jake Morris, Alastair McKee, Jon Abramson, Mark Peyron

DOI: 10.33599/nasampe/s.23.0218

Abstract: Thermoplastic composites are of rapidly growing interest in many industries. Process modeling is a multi-physics, computational approach for predicting material behavior and quality outcomes for different manufacturing processes, and it has been applied to relatively few thermoplastic composites material systems. In this work, unidirectional carbon fiber with poly(ether ketone ketone) (CF/PEKK) has been investigated. CF/PEKK and neat PEKK samples were characterized over a wide range of temperatures, principally by modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and rheology. Data were analyzed and prepared for building constitutive models for crystallization and melting kinetics, specific heat capacity, stress relaxation, modulus development, flow characteristics, thermal conductivity, and coefficient of thermal expansion. The activation energy of the process of crystallization from the melt state was measured using isoconversional analysis methods, and the CF/PEKK exhibited significantly lower activation energy values than neat PEKK. Additionally, the rate of secondary crystallization was significantly increased by the presence of the carbon fiber compared with neat PEKK resin. Challenges associated with carrying out a full suite of characterization experiments were identified, and these results provide a framework for characterizing high performance thermoplastic prepreg for advanced process modeling. Results will be implemented in the RAVEN simulation databases.

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Conference: SAMPE 2023

Publication Date: 2023/04/17

SKU: TP23-0000000218

Pages: 15

Price: $30.00