Filament winding processing parameters

In Fig. 7.2 a thermoplastic filament winding process consisting of a material rack, a tension controller, a preheating zone, a main heater, a consolidation roller and a mandrel is shown schematically. Beside the material used, the most adjustable process parameters are winding velocity (which is defined by mandrel rotation and crosshead movement), roving tension, temperature, winding angle and mandrel/liner (material and temperature control). 

Minimizing the cycle time in filament wound composites can be critical to the economic success of the process. The process parameters that influence the cycle time are winding speed, molding temperature and polymer formulation. To optimize the process, a finite element analysis (FEA) was used to characterize the effect of each process parameter on the cycle time. The FEA simultaneously solved equations of mass and energy which were coupled through the temperature and conversion dependent reaction rate. The rate expression accounting for polymer cure rate was derived from a mechanistic kinetic model. 

Colton J, Leach D, Processing parameters for filament winding thick-section PEEK carbon-fiber composites. Polymer Composites, 13(6), 427 34, 1992. 

Lauke, B. and Friedrich, K., Evaluation of processing parameters of thermoplastic composites fabricated by filament winding . Composites Manufacturing, 1993,4(2), 93. 

Henninger, F, Hoffmann, J., and Friedrich, K. (2002), Thermoplastic filament winding with online-impregnation. Part B Experimental study of processing parameters . 

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