1. Cold Spray Metallization of Hybrid Thermoplastic-Thermoset Fiber Reinforced Composite
- Author
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Hetal Parmar, Roberta Della Gatta, Antonio Viscusi, Fausto Tucci, Antonello Astarita, Pierpaolo Carlone, Gabriela Vincze and Frédéric Barlat, Parmar, H., Gatta, R. D., Viscusi, A., Tucci, F., Astarita, A., and Carlone, P.
- Subjects
resin infusion ,Mechanics of Materials ,Mechanical Engineering ,Metallization ,Cold spray ,Polymer matrix composites ,Cocuring ,Resin infusion ,polymer matrix composite ,cocuring ,General Materials Science ,cold spray - Abstract
Surface metallization is amongst the recent trends in the polymer and polymer matrix composites (PMCs) research industries to improve the electrical and thermal properties and exploit the subsequent utilization in the aerospace sector. Specifically, polymer matrix composites have been subjected to the limitations in form of high temperature exposure and substrate deterioration. The present study encompasses a new strategy in the manufacturing and metallization process. The first stage in the manufacturing of hybrid thermoplastic-thermoset composite was the hot compaction which comprised of primary preform preparation enabling the partial impregnation of the thermoplastic resin through the fabric reinforcement layer. The subsequent stage entailed the preform vacuum bagging and conducting catalyzed thermoset resin impregnation. The vacuum resin infusion step included a cocuring cycle to generate a fiber reinforced composite comprising of thermoplastic and impregnated thermoset resin with improved adhesion. Resin flow front movement was analyzed during the resin infusion process. Composite metallization was achieved through cold spray (CS). CS process parameters influence on the coating quality and characterization of laminates through microstructural analysis and results have been reported. The hybrid composite with thermoset resin through thickness and in-plane impregnation was achieved with the intact adherent thermoplastic layer after the curing cycle. In the CS metallization, the effective operative window of stand-off distances (SoD) and temperature has been determined.
- Published
- 2022