Experimental investigation of thermoforming carbon fibre-reinforced polyphenylene sulphide composites

Pre-consolidated carbon fibre-reinforced polyphenylene sulphide (CF/PPS) laminates were <br/>thermoformed into V-shaped parts via designed out of autoclave thermoforming experiments. <br/>The different processing conditions tested in the experiment have resulted in final <br/>part angles whose differences ranged from 2.087 to 3.431 from the original mould angle. <br/>The test results show that processing conditions influenced finished part dimensions as the <br/>final sample angles were found to decrease relative to the tooling dimensions, as mould <br/>temperature increases. Higher mould temperature conditions produce thinner parts due <br/>to the thermal expansion of mould tools. The mould temperature of 170C, which can <br/>produce parts with high degree of crystallinity as well as small size of crystal, has been <br/>established as the optimal thermoforming condition for CF/PPS composites.