The optical‐thermal modeling of carbon black filled glass fiber reinforced poly‐ether‐ether‐ketone in laser assisted tape winding

Abstract To facilitate the application of carbon black filled glass fiber reinforced poly‐ether‐ether‐ketone (CB‐GF/PEEK) prepreg in laser assisted tape winding (LATW), a finite element method is used to analyze the optical‐thermal characteristics of the following three prepregs with distinct laser absorption properties: (i) 0.5%CB (incomplete absorption), (ii) 2.74%CB (complete, single‐layer absorption), (iii) 4%CB (complete, near‐surface absorption). Thus, the energy distribution, temperature distribution and thermal accumulation are revealed, and the heating strategy is customized according to the laser absorption characteristics of each prerpeg. Then the feasibility of CB filled GF/PEEK prepreg in LATW is verified by manufacturing and testing NOL rings. Finally, the nip‐point irradiation scheme is optimized. The simulation results reveal a significant difference between the optical‐thermal characteristics of the 0.5%CB and those of the other two prerpegs. Benefited from the energy leakage, the 0.5%CB facilitated twice melting by thermal accumulation, along with a higher nip‐point temperature. Meanwhile, the mechanical performance tests of the NOL rings indicate a similar tensile strength of ~1300 MPa for the 0.5%CB and 4%CB, while the interlaminar strength of the 0.5%CB is slightly higher than that of the 4%CB. The latter result may be due to the higher nip‐point temperature of the 0.5%CB, which promotes resin diffusion and enhances the bonding strength. Finally, an optimized heating strategy with short laser length, vertical irradiation of the nip‐point is proposed, and is shown to reduce the ineffective thermal accumulation and ensured the suitability of Tape and Laminate temperature.