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Abstract

A new molding process concept aimed at producing fabric-based structural composites with minimized out-of-mold surface fiber readout was proposed and validated in this study. The process first incorporates and lightly cures resins in fiber reinforcements to form fabric preforms. The partially cured preforms are subsequently over-molded with fresh resins to produce the finished panels. The concept was demonstrated using a vinyl ester resin reinforced with a large roving, plain weave glass fabric. By controlling the volumetric shrinkage of resin matrices through adding low profile additives and fillers, the proposed molding process successfully produced composite panels with significantly reduced surface fiber readout as indicated by surface profiles and corresponding Ra values measured by optical profilometry. The results also indicated that the surface texture of the fabric-based structural composites can eventually be made comparable to that of an ELPO-coated steel sheet.

Keywords

class-A surface fiber readout fiber preform liquid molding prepreg layup composite.

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Reducing Fiber Readout of Structural Composite Panels

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