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Heeley, Ellen L.; Reynolds, Neil; Hamby, William; Kelly, Catherine A.; Jenkins, Michael J. and Hughes, Darren
(2025).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2025.108804
Abstract
The effect of manufacturing conditions on the morphology of an industrially-processed 11-ply polyamide/glass fibre (PA66-GF60) laminate was investigated. Through-thickness temperature variation during the manufacturing process (pre-heating, stamp forming, demoulding) was revealed via eight inter-ply thermocouples. Thermal and X-ray analysis provided insights into process-induced polymer crystallinity and morphology through the laminate thickness. Cooling rates up to ∼ 2100°C/min were observed in outer plies, compared to ∼420°C/min for inner plies. A self-heating exothermal phenomenon was observed during crystallisation of the inner layers, leading to increased core crystallinity. X-ray diffraction revealed differences in preferred polymer orientation between the plies. For the inner plies, additional mobility from slower cooling leads to partially oriented crystallites along the glass fibre axis and a well-developed lamellar macromorphology. The rapidly cooled outer plies showed unoriented morphology, without long-range ordering. The work provides detailed understanding of polymer morphology for an industrially-relevant high-volume manufacturing process for thermoplastic matrix components.
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