Role of the inter‐ply microstructure in the consolidation quality of high‐performance thermoplastic composites

Consolidation of Carbon Fiber (CF)/high-performance thermoplastic compos-ites is much less understood than the one of their thermoset counterparts. It isusually assumed that the consolidation quality is directly linked to the removalof voids within the sample during consolidation, leading to mechanical proper-ties suitable for aerospace applications. A systematic study of the temporalevolution of CF/polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) samples' microstructure con-solidated under low pressure in a rheometer is related to the increase in inter-laminar shear strength. The results show that despite similar void contentswell-below 1 vol%, samples can present significant differences in ILSS values,from 80 to 95 MPa for cross-ply samples, and from 98 to 112 MPa for unidirec-tional (UD) ones. A microstructural analysis shows that, for these materials,consolidation quality is rather related to a reorganization of the inter-ply, aresin-rich ( 70 vol%) region of typical thickness 10μm which is slowly repo-pulated in fibers during consolidation