Winding process of fibre-reinforced thermoplastic tubes with integrated tape production through in-situ roving impregnation and infrared consolidation

Abstract

The present paper takes a novel approach to production of fibre-reinforced thermoplastic tubes. The method begins with the raw materials, reinforcing fibre and thermoplastic granulate which are processed to tapes through a newly developed direct impregnation process. It is followed by consolidation of fibre-reinforced thermoplastic tubes using infrared (IR) emitters in the filament winding process. This process employs various angles and utilizes a rotatable consolidation axis. The winding process operates at a constant speed, addressing the challenge of bending the fibre-reinforced tapes in the angle reversal areas near the tube ends. Experiments have confirmed that the process can run at speeds reaching approximately 470 mm/min. The design of the impregnation line takes into account the properties of the thermoplastic and the roving, allowing for a speed of up to 1 m/s.

Analysis and Modeling of the System Boundaries of a High-Speed Direct-Yarn-Placement System for In Situ Impregnation of Carbon Fibre Heavy Tows as Textile Reinforcements for Concrete Parts

“…Research on yarn-laying head design showcases a diverse array of effector builds catering to specific impregnation needs. Traditional wet impregnation baths with multiple pins remain prevalent [21,[30][31][32][33]35,[38][39][40][41]43,44], offering versatility in impregnation.…”

“…The laying speed, acceleration, and tension settings in the various papers exhibit a wide range of variables and values, showcasing the diverse approaches in filament winding and related processes [19,20,24,33,[35][36][37] 2022) developed a cyber-physical manufacturing process for large coreless filament wound composite elements, achieving an average laying speed of up to 0.148 m/s, with tensions ranging from 190 N to 320 N during traveling [24]. Sinha et al (2024) studied the effect of fiber tension on carbon/epoxy composite specimens, with a processing speed of 0.056 m/s during impregnation [33].…”

“…Hopmann et al (2021) detected and evaluated fiber deposition parameters during wet filament winding, with winding speeds ranging from 0.28 to 0.96 m/s and resin bath temperatures from 40 to 60 °C [37]. Siegl et al (2024) examined the winding process of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic tubes, achieving an impregnation line speed of up to 1 m/s [35].…”