REACTION INJECTION PULTRUSION OF THERMOPLASTIC AND THERMOSET COMPOSITES

Conventional pultrusion of thermoset composites is under increasing ex amination for emissions of harmful volatiles from the resin wetout tan k. Even though the pultrusion of thermoplastic matrix composites produ ces no emissions, it is difficult to wet individual fibers due to thei r high melt viscosities, This paper addresses both the issues of volat iles and welting with a process called Reaction Injection Pultrusion ( RIP). A prototype RIP machine was used to make both thermoplastic poly urethane and thermoset polyisocyanurate matrix composites, The RIP pro cess produces pultruded parts with low void content, good surface fini sh, and acceptable mechanical properties. The low viscosity constituen ts used in RIP help improve fiber impregnation, while the small volume of the impregnation bath reduces emissions. Processing parameters suc h as line speeds, catalyst levels, and die temperatures were varied to establish processing guidelines for sustained production.