Fibre Composite Surface Treatment Using Intermediate Hardness Abrasives
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surface treatment methods for fibre composite materials, such as carbon fibre reinforced plastics, often damage the strength-determining fibres during grinding, leading to weakened structural parts due to the sharp-edged corundum grains used, which sever the fibres.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that use an abrasion means with a hardness between 3 to 4 Mohs, applied via a gaseous or liquid fluid, specifically designed to remove the surface of fibre composite materials without damaging the fibres, by blasting or casting the abrasion means onto the surface, ensuring it is less hard than the fibres but harder than the polymer matrix, thus preventing fibre severing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional grinding with sharp-edged corundum grains is used to prepare the surface, then the surface is removed effectively, but the fibres are severed and the strength of the composite material is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the key parameter of abrasion means hardness from high (corundum, ~9 Mohs) to low (3-4 Mohs), creating a hardness gradient where the abrasion means is harder than the polymer matrix but softer than the fibres. This parameter change allows selective removal of the matrix material while preserving the fibres, resolving the contradiction between effective surface preparation and fibre strength preservation
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies different hardness requirements to different components: the abrasion means is specifically designed to have intermediate hardness properties that are locally optimized for interacting with the polymer matrix without affecting the fibres. This local quality differentiation enables the abrasion means to selectively remove matrix material while leaving fibres intact
2Productivity
If the hardness of the abrasion means is increased to remove material efficiently, then the surface treatment is more effective, but the fibres are damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the hardness parameter of the abrasion means to a specific range (3-4 Mohs) that balances material removal efficiency with fibre protection. This intermediate hardness value provides sufficient cutting action on the polymer matrix while being too soft to sever the harder fibres, thus maintaining both productivity and fibre integrity
3Strength
If the hardness of the abrasion means is decreased to protect the fibres, then the fibres are preserved, but the surface removal efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent identifies and optimizes the hardness parameter to an intermediate range (3-4 Mohs) that simultaneously satisfies both requirements: it is soft enough to protect fibres from severing while being hard enough to efficiently remove the polymer matrix. This optimal parameter selection resolves the contradiction between fibre protection and surface treatment efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a functional composite effect by using abrasion means with composite-like properties - a hardness characteristic that combines the material removal capability of hard abrasives with the fibre-protection property of softer materials. The abrasion means effectively acts as a composite system that differentially interacts with the two components (matrix and fibres) of the fibre composite material
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
This approach effectively prepares the surface for adhesive bonding without impairing the strength of the fibre composite material, as the abrasion means removes the surface layer without damaging the fibres, ensuring structural integrity.
Implementation Method 1
the surface of the fibre composite material being removed by an abrasion means
Implementation Method 2
the abrasion means is blasted onto the surface of the fibre composite material by means of a gaseous fluid
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a method and a device for treating a surface of a fiber composite material which contains fibers of a specific hardness, the surface of the fiber composite material being removed abrasively by an abrasion means, the hardness of which is less than the hardness of the fibers contained in the fiber composite material and is greater than the hardness of a plastics material in which the fibers of the fiber composite material are embedded.