Continuous Fiber Impregnation with UV Curing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for manufacturing continuous composite materials with reinforcement fibers and resin face challenges in achieving uniform impregnation and high-speed production, particularly in maintaining fiber positioning and achieving desired mechanical properties under stress.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus that pulls reinforcement fibers through a vacuum chamber and a vertically-oriented impregnation chamber, followed by a curing process using photo-initiators activated by radiation sources, such as LEDs, to achieve continuous and uniform impregnation and curing of the resin.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional pultrusion method is used with heated die for polymerization, then at least partial polymerization of resin is achieved, but impregnation is slow and difficult to control uniformly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces thermal polymerization (heated die) with photopolymerization (UV radiation source). This substitution enables rapid and uniform curing of the resin without the slow heating process, thereby increasing impregnation speed while maintaining uniformity. The UV radiation source cures the resin quickly as it passes through the forming section, solving the contradiction between slow thermal processing and the need for fast, uniform impregnation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the curing mechanism from thermal to photonic parameters. By using a UV radiation source instead of heated die, the curing process occurs rapidly at ambient or controlled temperatures. This parameter change allows for high-speed continuous production while achieving uniform resin distribution and curing throughout the composite element.
2Manufacturing precision
If vacuum molding technique is used to improve impregnation, then fiber impregnation is improved, but the process is batch-based which limits continuous manufacture of long components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a continuous production system where fibers are fed continuously through a forming section with UV radiation source. The resin-impregnated fibers are continuously cured as they pass through the radiation field, enabling uninterrupted manufacturing of long composite elements. This continuous action eliminates the batch processing limitation while maintaining high impregnation quality through controlled resin delivery and immediate UV curing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the manufacturing process into distinct functional sections: fiber feeding, resin impregnation, and UV curing. This segmentation allows each section to operate continuously and independently, with the UV radiation source providing continuous curing along the length of the composite element. The segmented approach enables continuous production while maintaining precise control over impregnation quality in each section.
3Productivity
If conventional pultrusion is operated at high speed, then productivity increases, but maintaining proper positioning of fibers within resin becomes difficult to control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the slow thermal curing process with rapid photopolymerization using UV radiation. This substitution allows the resin to cure quickly at high production speeds, locking fibers in their proper positions before they can shift or migrate. The rapid UV curing maintains precise fiber positioning control even at high velocities, solving the contradiction between speed and positioning accuracy.
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 enables high impregnation rates and allows for the continuous manufacture of strong, uniformly impregnated composite materials with improved mechanical properties, overcoming the limitations of batch processes and slow impregnation rates in existing methods.
Implementation Method 1
The reinforcement fibers are pulled through a vacuum chamber
Implementation Method 2
During rotation, a radiation source such as e.g., LEDs (light emitting diodes) are used to activate the photo-initiators and provide at least partial curing of the resin
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
An apparatus for preparation of a continuous composite element formed of reinforcement fibers impregnated with a resin that includes photo-initiators for curing. Reinforcement fibers are pulled through a vacuum chamber (110) and then a vertical impregnation chamber (122) where impregnation with the resin occurs. The elongate composite is then deposited onto a rotating wheel of conformation (140). During rotation, a radiation source (146) such as e.g., LEDs (light emitting diodes) are used to activate the photo-initiators and provide at least partial curing of the resin. From the wheel of conformation, the continuous composite element is passed along a vertical course (148) where additional radiation sources (150) activate the photo-initiators and provided additional curing.