The type of fiber reinforced thermoplastics
Divided in the form of reinforcing fibers, thermoplastic composites have undergone the following major stages: short fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites, long fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites, and continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites.
Short Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic (SFT)
Generally refers to a type of reinforced thermoplastic having a reinforcing fiber length of less than 1 mm and a typical length of 0.2-0.7 mm.
Short fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites are superior to non-reinforced polymer matrix materials in strength, stiffness, and dimensional stability. Widely used in the automotive industry, machinery industry, electronics / electrical appliances, ships, aerospace and other fields.
Long fiber reinforced thermoplastics (LFT or LFRT)
In order to overcome the fiber length defects in short-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics and to make up for the lack of mechanical properties, newer materials have been developed.
Long fiber reinforced thermoplastics are generally based on thermoplastics such as polypropylene, polyamide (nylon), PET, polyphenylene sulfide, polyether sulfone, and polyether ether ketone; glass fiber, carbon fiber, and aramid fiber are used as reinforcing materials. . The semi-finished products are made of continuous fiber rovings and thermoplastics by extrusion, pelletizing or tableting methods, and then injected or molded into articles.
The development of LFT is mainly driven by the automobile industry. In addition, there will be good development potential in the consumer and industrial products markets. According to a report released by a global industrial analyst company, the global LFT usage in 2017 reached 313,400 tons.
Glass mat reinforced thermoplastic thermoplastic sheet (GMT)
A sheet-like structural material having a thermoplastic resin as a matrix and a glass fiber mat as a reinforcing skeleton.
Polypropylene is mainly used for plastics and PET, PBT or polycarbonate can also be used. GMT uses high-speed presses or presses to form products.
GMT materials are widely used in the automotive industry because of their superior performance over thermosetting materials and good cost performance. At the same time, they are also used for the manufacture of bumper beams, dashboard frames, engine covers, and anti-noise properties. Stone car cover, seat frame, battery tray, compartment floor, wheel cover, luggage rack and roof and other car parts.
Continuous Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic (CFRT)
CFRT's product forms include fiber prepregs, fabric prepregs, composite yarns, pultruded products, etc.
Glass fiber and carbon fiber are main reinforcing materials for making continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastics. The main resins used are polyamide (PA), polypropylene (PP), polyetherimide (PEI), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), and polyether. Ether ketones (PEEK) and so on.
The development of the aerospace industry is a huge driving force for the development of continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastics. Because continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastics have high toughness and damage tolerance, as well as excellent high temperature performance, this material has attracted great attention from the aviation industry as soon as it comes out, and has begun to show its superiority in the application of aircraft. In addition, continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastics have gradually expanded their use in the automotive, sports equipment, transportation, industrial, medical, and marine markets in recent years.
In addition to the above-mentioned several mainstream reinforced thermoplastics, thermoplastic composite sandwich structures have also emerged in recent years. This material is a sandwich structure made by adding a core material between the two skins and can significantly improve the performance by only adding a small amount of weight, and thus is widely used in the fields of automobiles, containers, and buildings.
