Hybrid fabrics of carbon fiber and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber for use in impact-resistant articles
The hybrid fabric of carbon and twisted UHMWPE fibers addresses the brittleness of carbon fiber composites by enhancing tensile strength and impact resistance, providing improved mechanical properties and energy absorption.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- KORDSA TEKNIK TEKSTIL AS
- Filing Date
- 2023-06-12
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-22
Smart Images
Figure 0007893960000001 
Figure 0007893960000002 
Figure 0007893960000003
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a hybrid fabric of carbon fiber and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber having improved impact resistance performance.
Background Art
[0002] Electric vehicles offer one of the most promising alternatives to vehicles using internal combustion engines due to their clean and efficient drive systems. In a typical electric vehicle, the battery pack is mounted on the floor of the vehicle in a position intended to be as unobtrusive as possible and to protect the battery pack from frontal and rear impact accidents. However, the battery pack may be deformed by impacts from the ground, such as when road debris or stones collide with and penetrate the battery pack. Impacts from the ground not only damage the structure of the battery pack but also cause fire accidents. Therefore, most electric vehicles are equipped with impact-resistant articles mounted under the electric vehicle that have a shape and are positioned to cover and protect the battery pack from impacts from the ground.
[0003] Generally, carbon fiber composite materials are used in impact-resistant articles due to their high specific strength and rigidity. However, when carbon fiber composite materials are subjected to localized impact damage such as road debris, their inherent brittleness and low toughness lead to a decrease in mechanical properties, and furthermore, a high probability of fatal failure during use due to delamination or cracking. To solve this problem, hybrid composite materials, i.e., composite materials containing carbon fibers and other fibers, have been proposed. The most commonly used fibers are glass fibers, polyaramid, natural fibers such as flax and basalt, and polyolefin fibers such as polyethylene fibers. Among these, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers are considered a promising candidate because they have low axial specific strength and high modulus of elasticity, high elongation, and excellent energy absorption performance (Non-patent document 1: Hu, Yuan, et al. "Damage tolerance of 2-dimensional UHMWPE / CF hybrid woven laminates subjected to low-velocity impact." Materials & Design 191 (2020): 108604).
[0004] Examples of hybrid articles containing carbon fiber and UHMWPE fiber are shown below. European Patent No. 0 310 203 (Patent Document 1) discloses combinations of filaments having substantially different damping responses to mechanical vibrations in a matrix, with the filament having good damping characteristics accounting for about 30-50 volume percent of the total filament amount. The filament with high damping characteristics is particularly made of UHMWPE, while the filament with low damping characteristics is glass fiber or carbon fiber. Composite articles made from the filaments are embedded in a matrix, particularly an epoxy resin matrix.
[0005] European Patent No. 3 006 489 (Patent Document 2) discloses a composite fiber composed of carbon filaments woven from high-performance polyethylene fiber filaments formed from ultra-high molar mass linear polyethylene (UHMWPE), impregnated in a matrix of low-curing-temperature epoxy resin, and cured at a temperature of no more than 100°C. The fabric includes using UHMWPE fibers alternately with carbon fibers in one weaving direction (weft or warp) and using a single UHMWPE fiber perpendicular to the other direction. The fabric contains 50% by weight of UHMWPE and 50% by weight of carbon fibers.
[0006] U.S. Patent No. 4,983,433 (Patent Document 3) discloses a reinforcing material for fiber-reinforced plastics, which is a woven or knitted fabric made by doubly mixing two types of filaments. One of the filaments used is a UHMWPE filament, which accounts for 60-90% of the total surface area of the fabric. The other filament may be a carbon filament or a glass filament, which accounts for 60-90% of the total back surface area of the fabric.
[0007] International Publication No. 2018 / 002229 (Patent Document 4) discloses a multilayer hybrid composite material comprising at least one layer of fabric A containing 0 to 20 volume% of high-performance polymer fibers, preferably UHMWPE, and 100 to 80 volume% of fibers selected from the group consisting of glass fibers and carbon fibers; at least one layer of fabric B containing 20 to 70 volume% of high-performance polymer fibers, preferably UHMWPE, and 80 to 20 volume% of fibers selected from the group consisting of glass fibers and carbon fibers; and a matrix material.
[0008] International Publication No. 2019 / 025641 (Patent Document 5) discloses a hybrid fabric comprising high-performance polyethylene (HPPE) fibers and nonpolymer fibers, wherein the cross-sectional area of the HPPE fibers is equal to or smaller than that of the nonpolymer fibers. Preferably, the hybrid fibers contain 15 to 50 volume percent of HPPE fibers.
[0009] Chinese Patent No. 101736480 (Patent Document 6) and Chinese Patent No. 101768809 (Patent Document 7) disclose hybrid fibers comprising carbon fibers and UHMWPE fibers. The UHMWPE fibers and carbon fibers may be mixed in the warp direction, weft direction, or warp and weft direction of the fabric. The documents also disclose composite materials manufactured using such hybrid fabrics.
[0010] Hu et al. have disclosed a laminate comprising a two-dimensional woven fabric formed from UHMWPE and carbon fibers with a carbon:UHMWPE ratio of 2:1 in the weft and warp directions, in order to achieve improved impact resistance (Non-patent Literature 1: Hu, Yuan, et al. "Damage tolerance of 2-dimentional UHMWPE / CF hybrid woven laminates subjected to low-velocity impact." Materials & Design 191 (2020): 108604).
[0011] However, it is possible to improve the properties of the UHMWPE fibers used to obtain hybrid fabrics with improved impact resistance. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]
[0012] [Patent Document 1] European Patent No. 0310203 [Patent Document 2] European Patent No. 3006489 [Patent Document 3] U.S. Patent No. 4,983,433 [Patent Document 4] International Publication No. 2018 / 002229 [Patent Document 5] International Publication No. 2019 / 025641 [Patent Document 6] Chinese Patent No. 101736480 Specification [Patent Document 7] Chinese Patent No. 101768809 Specification [Non-patent literature]
[0013] [Non-Patent Document 1] Hu, Yuan, et al. “Damage tolerance of 2-dimentional UHMWPE / CF hybrid woven laminates subjected to low-velocity impact.”. Materials & Design 191 (2020): 108604) [Overview of the project]
[0014] This invention discloses a hybrid fabric comprising carbon fibers and UHMWPE fibers, wherein the UHMWPE fibers are twisted to improve their tensile strength, thereby improving the impact resistance of the hybrid fabric. The hybrid fabric is preferably a fabric comprising 50-70% by weight of carbon fibers and 30-50% by weight of UHMWPE fibers. The hybrid fabric of this invention can be used in various fields where prepreg materials are utilized for impact-resistant articles such as industrial, construction, and military applications. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0015] As used herein, the terms "fiber" or "filament" refer to an elongated body having a length dimension greater than a lateral dimension or width dimension, and they may have a circular, flat, oval, or irregular cross-section. A single fiber may be formed from just one filament or from a plurality of filaments. The term "fabric" refers to a plurality of fibers arranged to generally form a continuous sheet and may include woven fabrics, unidirectional fabrics, and / or non-woven fabrics / fiber matrices made using the fibers or filaments described herein. The term "hybrid fabric" refers to a fabric that includes at least two different types of fibers or filaments, i.e., a fabric in which the fibers or filaments have different chemical structures and properties.
[0016] The term "denier" refers to a unit of linear density (fineness or titre or titer), which is equal to the mass in grams per 9000 m of fiber. An alternative measure of the fineness of a fiber is tex, which represents the mass (grams) of the fiber per 1000 m of the fiber. The term "tenacity" refers to the tensile stress expressed as the force per unit linear density of an unstressed test specimen (N / tex, g / denier, GPa). "Tensile modulus" means the ratio of the change in tenacity to the change in strain (N / tex, GPa).
[0017] Hereinafter, the two types of fibers used in the hybrid fabric of the present invention will be further described: (Carbon fiber) The carbon fiber may have a fineness of 100 dtex to 100000 dtex, preferably 100 dtex to 50000 dtex. In particular, the carbon fiber may have a fineness of 500 to 40000 dtex, particularly 650 to 32000 dtex, and may have a number of filaments of 1000 to 48000. The carbon fiber may be purchased as a commercially available product.
[0018] (UHMWPE fiber) In the present invention, ultra-high molecular weight is considered to be a weight average molecular weight of at least 400 kg / mol. The UHMWPE fibers of the first yarn may be produced according to any technique known in the art, for example by melt, solution or gel spinning, or commercially available products may be purchased. The UHMWPE fibers may further contain a small amount, generally less than 5%, preferably less than 3% of conventional additives such as antioxidants, heat stabilizers, colorants, flow promoters, etc. The fibers may be of any suitable denier, for example 20 to 4800 denier, more preferably 800 to 4800 denier, most preferably 1600 to 4800 denier.
[0019] It has been found that the tensile strength of UHMWPE fibers can be improved by twisting the fibers. For example, it has been found that a single 4800 denier UHMWPE fiber has a higher tensile strength than three 1600 denier UHMWPE fibers twisted together (Table 1). Also, it has been found that the tensile strength of UHMWPE fibers increases as the number of twists per meter increases, reaches a maximum value when the number of twists per meter is 55 to 65, and decreases as the number of twists per meter increases (Table 2). Therefore, the properties of UHMWPE fibers can be arbitrarily adjusted as desired according to the application by twisting. The hybrid fabric produced using the twisted UHMWPE fibers has improved impact resistance properties.
[0020] TIFF0007893960000001.tif75166
[0021] TIFF0007893960000002.tif61164
[0022] The hybrid fabric of the present invention contains 50 to 70% by weight of carbon fibers and 30 to 50% by weight of UHMWPE fibers. More preferably, the hybrid fabric contains 55 to 65% by weight of carbon fibers and 35 to 45% by weight of UHMWPE fibers. In the most preferred embodiment, the hybrid fabric contains 60% by weight of carbon fibers and 40% by weight of UHMWPE fibers. It has been found that this ratio provides the highest impact resistance properties.
[0023] The hybrid fabric according to the present invention is preferably typically a fabric comprising one or more wefts which may have similar or different compositions, and one or more warp threads which may have similar or different compositions. UHMWPE and carbon fibers can be mixed in the warp direction, weft direction, or both warp and weft directions of the hybrid fabric. When the fibers are mixed in the warp direction, the warp direction contains UHMWPE and carbon fibers, and the weft direction contains UHMWPE or carbon fibers. When the fibers are mixed in the weft direction, the weft direction contains UHMWPE and carbon fibers, and the warp direction contains UHMWPE or carbon fibers. When the fibers are mixed in both the warp and weft directions, both the warp and weft directions contain UHMWPE and carbon fibers. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, UHMWPE and carbon fibers are mixed in both the warp and weft directions. The ratio of UHMWPE to carbon fibers may be equal or different in the warp and weft directions. In a preferred embodiment, the ratio of UHMWPE to carbon fiber is equal in the warp and weft directions.
[0024] Preferably, the type of woven hybrid fabric is a plain weave, twill weave, satin weave, unidirectional weave, or multi-layered multiaxial weave.
[0025] The surface density of the hybrid fabric is preferably 10 to 3000 g / m². 2 More preferably, the surface density of the hybrid fabric is 100-1500 g / m². 2 Or 150-1000g / m 2 That is the case.
[0026] The hybrid fabrics of the present invention may be used in composite materials. A composite material refers to a material comprising at least one fabric and a matrix material, which is a different form of material, such as a copolymer resin impregnated into and / or coated onto the fabric. The matrix material is typically a liquid (co)polymer resin impregnated between the fabrics and optionally subsequently cured. Hardening or curing may be carried out by any means known in the art, such as a chemical reaction or solidification from a molten state to a solid state. Preferred examples of matrix materials include, but are not limited to, thermoplastic resins, epoxy resins, polyester or vinyl ester resins, or phenolic resins.
[0027] The hybrid fabric according to the present invention exhibits improved tensile strength and modulus of elasticity while maintaining high impact resistance, thereby enabling a wider range of application opportunities.
[0028] Preferably, composites obtained by applying hybrid fabrics exhibit the following properties: a tensile modulus of at least 28 GPa, more preferably at least 32 GPa; a tensile strength of at least 475 MPa, preferably at least 535 MPa; and high impact properties, i.e., a high energy absorption capacity of at least 40, preferably at least 46 J. [Examples]
[0029] The following examples are provided to illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
[0030] (material) We used commercially available 24K carbon fiber (24000 filaments) with a tensile modulus of 239 GPa, a fineness of 1600 tex, and a strength of 4.2 GPa.
[0031] Three 1600 denier UHMWPE filaments were ring-spun and joined at a twist count of 60 per meter. The resulting UHMWPE fiber had a tensile modulus of 775 cN / dtex, a fineness of 4800 denier, and a strength of 28 cN / dtex.
[0032] (Hybrid fabric) A 2x2 twill hybrid fabric was manufactured containing 60% carbon and 40% UHMWPE. The weft and warp directions were composed of UHMWPE fibers and carbon fibers in a 2:1 ratio. The weft density was 3.8. The surface density of the hybrid fabric was 1000 g / m². 2 That was the case.
[0033] The physical properties of the above hybrid fabrics are shown in Table 3 below, compared to 100% carbon fabrics. Because UHMWPE fibers are less dense and cheaper than carbon fibers, hybrid fabrics formed from carbon and UHMWPE achieve significant weight reduction with much higher energy absorption capacity than 100% carbon fabrics.
[0034] TIFF0007893960000003.tif55138
[0035] In short, the present invention proposes a hybrid fabric containing carbon fibers and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers, the hybrid fabric being a woven fabric, and containing 50-70% by weight of carbon fibers and 30-50% by weight of UHMWPE fibers.
[0036] In one modification of the present invention, the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber has 20 to 80 twists per meter.
[0037] In a further modification of the present invention, the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber has 40 to 80 twists per meter.
[0038] In a further modification of the present invention, the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber has 55 to 65 twists per meter.
[0039] In a further modification of the present invention, the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber has a fineness of 1600 to 4800 denier.
[0040] In a further modification of the present invention, the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber is a monofilament fiber.
[0041] In a further modification of the present invention, the hybrid fabric comprises 55-65% by weight of carbon fibers and 35-45% by weight of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers.
[0042] In a further modification of the present invention, the hybrid fabric comprises 60% by weight of carbon fibers and 40% by weight of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers.
[0043] In further variations of the present invention, the hybrid fabric is a plain weave fabric, a twill weave fabric, a satin weave fabric, a unidirectional weave fabric, or a multilayer multiaxial weave fabric.
[0044] In a further modification of the present invention, the carbon fibers and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers are mixed in the warp, weft, or warp and weft directions.
[0045] The present invention also proposes a composite comprising at least one layer of the aforementioned hybrid fabric.
Claims
1. A hybrid fabric containing carbon fibers and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers, The aforementioned hybrid fabric is a woven fabric, The hybrid fabric comprises 60% by weight of carbon fibers and 40% by weight of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers, wherein the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers have 20 to 80 twists per meter.
2. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1, wherein the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers have 40 to 80 twists per meter.
3. The hybrid fabric according to claim 2, wherein the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers have 55 to 65 twists per meter.
4. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1, wherein the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers have a fineness of 1600 to 4800 denier.
5. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1, wherein the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber is a monofilament fiber.
6. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1, wherein the hybrid fabric is a plain weave fabric, a twill weave fabric, a satin weave fabric, a unidirectional weave fabric, or a multilayer multiaxial weave fabric.
7. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1, wherein the carbon fibers and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers are mixed in the warp, weft, or warp and weft directions.
8. A composite comprising at least one layer of the hybrid fabric according to claim 1.