Fiber Reinforced

Plastics (FRP)
Composites
Moulding
 Rotational Molding
● Can form large hollow parts by this method .
● Two piece mold is designed such that it can be rotated about 2
perpendicular axes.
● Pre-measured amount of powder plastic is placed inside warm mold.
● Mold is heated further and rotated about the two axes.
● Powder tumbles against mold walls, causing it to fuse without
melting.
● Additional cross-linking occurs via a chemical agent.
●Typical products: trash cans, buckets, toys, boat hulls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPTb0jm8klA
 Fibers as the Reinforcing
Phase
● Common fiber materials: glass, carbon, and Kevlar (a polymer)

● In some fabrication processes, the filaments are continuous, while in

others, they are chopped into short lengths
●In continuous form, individual filaments are usually available as rovings -
collections of untwisted continuous strands, convenient form for handling
●By contrast, a yarn is a twisted collection of filaments
 Fibers as the Reinforcing
Phase
● The most familiar form of continuous fiber is a cloth ‑ a fabric of woven
yarns

● Similar to a cloth is a woven roving, a fabric consisting of untwisted

filaments rather than yarns
●Woven rovings can be produced with unequal numbers of strands in the two directions
so that they possess greater strength in one direction
●Such unidirectional woven rovings are often preferred in laminated FRP composites
 Fibers as the Reinforcing
Phase
● Fibers can also be in a mat form ‑ It consisting of randomly oriented short
fibers held loosely together with a binder
●Mats are commercially available as blankets of various weights, thicknesses, and
widths
●Mats can be cut and shaped for use as preforms in some of the closed mold
processes

● During molding, the resin impregnates the preform and then cures, thus
yielding a fiber‑reinforced molding
 Combining Matrix and
Reinforcement
● The starting materials arrive at the fabrication operation as
separate entities and are combined into the composite during
shaping
● Filament winding and pultrusion, in which reinforcing phase =
continuous fibers
● The two component materials are combined into some starting
form that is convenient for use in the shaping process
● Molding compounds
● Prepregs
 Molding Compounds
FRP composite molding compounds consist of the resin matrix with short
randomly dispersed fibers, similar to those used in plastic molding
● Most molding compounds for composite processing are thermosetting
polymers
● Since they are designed for molding, they must be capable of flowing
●Accordingly, they have not been cured prior to shape processing
●Curing is done during and/or after final shaping
 Prepregs
Fibers impregnated with partially cured TS resins to facilitate shape
processing

● Available as tapes or cross‑plied sheets or fabrics

● Curing is completed during and/or after shaping

● Advantage: prepregs are fabricated with continuous filaments rather than

chopped random fibers, thus increasing strength and modulus
 Open Mold Processes
Family of FRP shaping processes that use a single positive or
negative mold surface to produce laminated FRP structures
● The starting materials (resins, fibers, mats, and woven rovings) are
applied to the mold in layers, building up to the desired thickness
● This is followed by curing and part removal
● Common resins are unsaturated polyesters and epoxies, using
fiberglass as the reinforcement
 Open Mold FRP
Processes
● Hand lay‑up
● Spray‑up
● Automated tape‑laying machines
● The differences are in the methods of applying the
laminations to the mold, alternative curing techniques, and
other differences
 Hand Lay‑Up Method
Open mold shaping method in which successive layers of resin and
reinforcement are manually applied to an open mold to build the
laminated FRP composite structure
● Labor‑intensive
● Finished molding must usually be trimmed with a power saw to size
outside edges
● Oldest open mold method for FRP laminates, dating to the 1940s
when it was first used for boat hulls
 Hand Lay-Up Method

Figure: Hand lay‑up : (1) mold is treated with mold release agent; (2) thin gel coat (resin) is applied, to the
outside surface of molding; (3) when gel coat has partially set, layers of resin and fiber are applied, the
fiber is in the form of mat or cloth; each layer is rolled to impregnate the fiber with resin and remove air;
(4) part is cured; (5) fully hardened part is removed from mold.
 Products Made by
Hand Lay‑Up
● Generally large in size but low in production quantity - not
economical for high production
● Applications:
●Boat hulls
●Swimming pools
●Large container tanks
●Movie and stage props
●Other formed sheets
● The largest molding ever made was ship hulls for the
British Royal Navy: 85 m (280 ft) long
 Spray‑up Method
● Spray-up is an open-moulding composites fabrication process where
resin and reinforcements are sprayed onto a reusable mould.
● The resin and glass fibers may be applied separately or simultaneously
"chopped" in a combined stream from a chopper gun.
● he processing steps are very similar to those in hand lay-up.
● In this process, the release agent is first applied to the mould and then a
layer of gelcoat is applied.
● The gelcoat is left for sometime, until it hardens.
● Once the gelcoat hardens, a spray gun is used to deposit the fibre resin
mixture onto the surface of the mould.
● The spray gun chops the incoming continuous rovings (one or more
rovings) to a predetermined length and impels it through the resin/
catalyst mixture.
● Resin/catalyst mixing can take place inside the gun (gun mixing) or just
in front of the gun.
● Spray guns are becoming popular because they provide more
controlled spray patterns and reduced emission of volatiles.
● Once the material is sprayed on the mould, brushes or rollers are used
to remove entrapped air as well as to ensure good fiber wetting.
● Fabric layers or continuous strand mats are added into the laminate,
depending on performance requirements.
● The curing of the resin is done at room temperature. The curing of
resin can take two to four hours, depending on the resin formulation.
● After curing, the part is removed from the mould and tested for
finishing and structural requirements.
Spray‑up Method
 Automated Tape‑Laying
Machines
Automated tape‑laying machines operate by dispensing a prepreg tape
onto an open mold following a programmed path
● Typical machine consists of overhead gantry to which the dispensing
head is attached
● The gantry permits x‑y‑z travel of the head, for positioning and following
a defined continuous path
● Curing is required of all thermosetting resins used in FRP laminated
composites
● Curing cross‑links the polymer, transforming it from its liquid or highly
plastic condition into a hardened product
● Three principal process parameters in curing:
Time, Temperature and Pressure
 Filament Winding
Resin‑impregnated continuous fibers are wrapped around a rotating
mandrel that has the internal shape of the desired FRP product; the resin
is then cured and the mandrel removed

● The fiber rovings are pulled through a resin bath immediately before
being wound (twisted) in a helical pattern onto the mandrel

● The operation is repeated to form additional layers, each having a criss-

cross pattern with the previous, until the desired part thickness has
been obtained
Filament Winding
Filament Winding
 Pultrusion
Processes
Similar to extrusion (hence the name similarity) but work piece is pulled
through die (so prefix "pul‑" in place of "ex‑")

● Like extrusion, pultrusion produces continuous straight sections of

constant cross section

● Developed in early 1950s for making fishing rods of glass fiber

reinforced polymer (GFRP)

● A related process, called pulforming, is used to make parts that are

curved and which may have variations in cross section throughout their
 Pultrusion
Processes
Continuous fiber rovings are dipped into a resin bath and pulled through
a shaping die where the impregnated resin cures

● The sections produced are reinforced throughout their length by

continuous fibers

● Like extrusion, the pieces have a constant cross section, whose profile
is determined by the shape of the die opening

● The cured product is cut into long straight sections

 Pultrusion
Processes

solid rods, tubing, long flat sheets, structural sections (such as

channels, angled and flanged beams), tool handles for high voltage
work, and third rail covers for subways.
Pultrusion
Processes
 Pulforming
Pultrusion with additional steps (post processing) to form the length into
a semicircular contour and alter the cross section at one or more
locations along the length

● Pultrusion is limited to straight sections of constant cross section

● There is also a need for long parts with continuous fiber reinforcement
that are curved rather than straight and whose cross sections may vary
throughout length
● Pulforming is suited to these less regular shapes
Pulforming