Abstract
Automated tape placement (ATP) process is widely used in aerospace for its advanced process control and multi-axis capabilities but faces issues like limited choice of materials and suboptimal tape consolidation. This study investigates air plasma treatment on ATP carbon fiber thermoplastic feedstock tape to address these challenges. The effects on low melt Polyaryletherketone/carbon fiber unidirectional tape (LMPAEK/CF UD tape) were analyzed. Treated and untreated tapes were used to fabricate composites and evaluated for physical, thermal, mechanical, and interfacial properties. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analyses revealed surface roughness changes (on LMPAEK), extent of oxidation, and the presence of hydroxyl/carboxyl groups. Composites from plasma-treated tapes showed a 7.6% increase in tensile strength, 8% in tensile modulus, 18% in flexural strength, and 8.3% in flexural modulus. The interlaminar shear strength improved by 18.7%. Failure analysis showed untreated composites failed via inter-ply and fiber-matrix delamination, while treated composites experienced matrix cracking and fiber breakage. This study highlights atmospheric plasma treatment as a solution to ATP's limitations, significantly enhancing LMPAEK/CF UD tape composites’ properties.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 108540 |
| Journal | Composites - Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing |
| Volume | 188 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2025 |
Funding
The authors acknowledge the support from the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Office. http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan The authors extend their gratitude to Chase McCullar for his assistance in carrying out mechanical testing. Additionally, they wish to thank SEAMTN (HQ00052110069) for providing resources for the tape cut and surface analysis, Institute of Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) (DE-EE0006926) for granting access to the ATP robot and other assets, Plasmatreat north America for providing the air plasma setup, and IUCRC (A22-0196) for offering technical assistance and resources. The authors acknowledge the support from the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy , and Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Office. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC , under contract DE-AC05\u201300OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ). The authors extend their gratitude to Chase McCullar for his assistance in carrying out mechanical testing. Additionally, they wish to thank SEAMTN (HQ00052110069) for providing resources for the tape cut and surface analysis, Institute of Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) (DE-EE0006926) for granting access to the ATP robot and other assets, Plasmatreat north America for providing the air plasma setup, and IUCRC (A22-0196) for offering technical assistance and resources.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Office | |
| SEAMTN | HQ00052110069 |
| Institute of Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation | DE-EE0006926, A22-0196 |
| Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy , and Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Office | DE-AC05–00OR22725 |
Keywords
- Automated tape placement
- Interface
- LMPAEK/Carbon fiber tape
- Plasma treatment
