Mechanical properties of GF/pCBT composites and their fusion-bonded joints : influence of process parameters

High melting viscosity of thermoplastic composites gives no way of using substantial volume fractions of reinforcing agents. This problem can be solved by in-situ polymerization of an extremely low-viscosity cyclic butylene terephthalate (CBT) resin. Continuous glass fiber-reinforced poly(cyclic butylene terephthalate) (GF/pCBT) composites with high fiber fractions were manufactured, and the mechanical properties as a function of the catalyst mass fraction and fiber filling ratio were studied. The longitudinal tensile strength of the composites was enhanced by increasing the fiber volume fraction, and the influence of the fiber fraction on the bending strength of high fiber filling-ratio composites was evaluated. Furthermore, the mechanical properties and failure modes of GF/pCBT fusion-bonded joints with different number of bonding areas of different lengths were investigated. It was found that high-strength composite materials can be obtained, which are applicable for fusion-bonded structures.Department of Mechanical Engineerin