Wound Fibre-Reinforced Plastic Profiles for Below-Tg Post-Curing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for post-curing fibre-reinforced plastic profiles, particularly those with large lengths, face inefficiencies and risks of permanent deformation due to incomplete curing and mechanical stresses during the winding process.
Innovation Solution
A method involving winding the partially cured profiles around a winding body and subjecting them to a heat treatment below the glass-transition temperature, allowing for further curing while maintaining stress-free shape and increasing the glass-transition temperature, thereby producing profiles with enhanced mechanical properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the profile is wound around a winding body before heat treatment, then profiles of large lengths can be produced efficiently, but stresses develop in the profile that may cause permanent deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The profile is wound around the winding body before the heat treatment process. This preliminary action allows the profile to be in a controlled state during curing, enabling efficient production of long profiles while the subsequent heat treatment ensures stress relief without deformation
Solution Approach 2:
The heat treatment process changes the temperature parameter of the matrix material from a partially cured state to a fully cured state. This parameter change increases the glass-transition temperature and allows the profile to retain its shape despite the stresses introduced by winding
2Temperature
If heat treatment is performed at high temperature to increase glass-transition temperature, then the matrix material becomes more suitable for elevated temperature applications, but the profile may deform due to exceeding the glass-transition temperature during treatment
Solution Approach 1:
The heat treatment process carefully controls the temperature parameter to increase the glass-transition temperature of the matrix material without exceeding it during treatment. This parameter change enables the profile to achieve high-temperature performance while maintaining shape stability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical reinforcement methods with a thermal field approach. By using controlled heat treatment, the mechanical properties and shape stability of the profile are improved without the need for additional mechanical constraints or support structures
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Efficient production of long fibre-reinforced plastic profiles with high glass-transition temperatures and minimal deformation, suitable for continuous supply and further processing without permanent shape alteration.
Implementation Method 1
by means of a heat treatment device, carrying out a heat treatment on the profile while the profile is wound around the winding body, and during said heat treatment the matrix material is post-cured
Implementation Method 2
wherein the glass-transition temperature of the matrix material is increased as a result of the heat treatment
Data Source
AI summary
The method involves supplying a profile which is wound round a winding structure with stresses being present in the profile due to the winding. The profile comprises several fibers extending along one another, which are embedded in a partially cured thermosetting matrix material. A heat treatment is carried out on the profile with a heat treatment device while the profile is wound. The matrix material is post-cured, during heat treatment. The glass-transition temperature of the matrix material is increased by the heat treatment, and the temperature to which the profile is exposed during the heat treatment remains below the glass-transition temperature. The stresses remain constant and the shape is retained both in cross-section as well as radius of curvature of the profile in the stress-free state, despite the heat treatment and despite the winding of the profile prior to the heat treatment.