Thermoplastic Composite Pipe Production from Glass Fiber/Polypropylene Hybrid Yarns using Filament Winding Method

Abstract

Polypropylene (PP) is a type of thermoplastic polymer used in many areas such as automotive, packaging, household goods and textile industries. It has also begun to be widely used in the pipe industry. The main reason for this is that corrosion does not occur as in metals and there is no need for additional protection against it. Thus, it replaces steel and cement systems. The use of composite materials in piping systems provides lighter and thinner structures and reduces costs. However, the composite structure is necessary, especially when pipe diameters increase. Although thermoset composites are used for this purpose, PP composites have many advantages over them. These are high strength, lightness, high chemical resistance, low water absorption, low cost and recyclability. However, the main problem in PP composite production is fiber-matrix interface formation. Hybrid yarns have been developed to overcome this problem. Although there are various types, they generally consist of mixtures of reinforcement fibers and polymer fibers. Thus, polymer fibers can melt and be better absorbed into the reinforcement fibers during processing under temperature. In this study, the filament winding process was applied to obtain glass fiber reinforced PP pipes. Glass fiber/PP hybrid yarns were used to reinforce PP more easily. The filament winding process, traditionally used to process thermosets, has been modified for hybrid yarns with the addition of heat and pressure systems. Helical and circumferential winding techniques, as well as combinations of these, have been applied. Samples were taken from the produced pipes in circumferential and axial directions. Tensile, bending and impact tests were performed, and the results were compared with unreinforced pipes. All hybrid yarn pipes produced showed higher modulus and strength than unreinforced pipes. In general, the highest results were obtained from the composite pipe produced with the combination winding technique, especially in the environmental direction.

Keywords

• Thermoplastic composite
• Commingled yarn
• Polypropylene
• Pipe
• Mechanical properties

Cam Elyaf/Polipropilen Melez İpliklerinden Elyaf Sarma Yöntemiyle Termoplastik Kompozit Boru Üretimi

Abstract

Polipropilen (PP), otomotiv, ambalaj, ev eşyaları ve tekstil endüstrisi gibi pek çok alanda kullanılan termoplastik bir polimer türüdür. Boru sektöründe de yaygın olarak kullanılmaya başlanmıştır. Bunun başlıca nedeni metallerde olduğu gibi korozyon oluşmaması ve buna karşı ek bir korumaya ihtiyaç duyulmamasıdır. Bu sayede çelik ve çimento sistemlerinin yerini almaktadır. Boru sistemlerinde kompozit malzemelerin kullanılması daha hafif ve ince yapılar sağlamakta ve maliyetleri azaltmaktadır. Ancak, özellikle boru çapları büyüdükçe, kompozit yapı gerekliliği artmaktadır. Bu amaçla termoset kompozitler kullanılsa da PP kompozitlerin bunlara göre birçok avantajı bulunmaktadır. Bunlar yüksek dayanım, hafiflik, yüksek kimyasal direnç, düşük su emilimi, düşük maliyetli ve geri dönüşüm kabiliyetidir. Ancak PP kompozit üretimindeki temel sorun fiber-matris arayüzey oluşumudur. Bu sorunun üstesinden gelmek için melez iplikler geliştirilmiştir. Çeşitli türleri olmakla birlikte genel olarak takviye elyaf ve polimer elyaf karışımlarından oluşmaktadırlar. Bu sayede, sıcaklık altında işlenmesi sırasında polimer elyaf ergiyip takviye elyafları içine daha iyi emdirilebilir. Bu çalışmada cam elyaf takviyeli PP borular elde etmek amacıyla elyaf sarma işlemi uygulanmıştır. PP'yi daha kolay takviyelendirmek için cam elyaf/PP melez iplikler kullanılmıştır. Geleneksel olarak termosetlerin işlenmesinde kullanılan elyaf sarma işlemi, ısı ve basınç sistemleri ilavesiyle melez iplikler için modifiye edilmiştir. Helisel ve çevresel sarım teknikleri, ayrıca bunların kombinasyonu uygulanmıştır. Üretilen borulardan çevresel ve eksenel yönlerde numuneler alınmıştır. Çekme, eğme ve darbe testleri yapılarak, sonuçlar takviyesiz borular ile karşılaştırılmıştır. Üretilen tüm melez iplikli borular takviyesiz boruya göre daha yüksek modül ve dayanım göstermiştir. Genel olarak kombinasyonlu sarım tekniğiyle üretilen kompozit borudan özellikle çevresel yönde en yüksek sonuçlar alınmıştır.

Keywords

• Termoplastik kompozit
• Melez iplik
• Polipropilen
• Boru
• Mekanik özellikler

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