Design, In Situ Pultrusion Manufacturing and Mechanical Properties of Novel Thermoplastic Acrylate‐Based Fiber‐Reinforced Polymer Bars

ABSTRACT Acrylate resin was formulated and utilized in producing fiber‐reinforced polymer (FRP) bars. A significant challenge encountered in the manufacturing process is managing the significant heat generated from polymerization. This research examined heat transfer phenomena and non‐isothermal resin flow within an acrylate‐based resin‐injection pultrusion process. The proposed numerical approach modeled resin flow in porous media, integrating kinetics of polymerization and the chemo‐rheological characteristics. Using this framework, dispersion of temperature, degree‐of‐impregnation (DOI), and degree‐of‐polymerization (DP) along the pultrusion line have been comprehensively analyzed. Furthermore, the resin's progressive phase transition, initiating from the profile edges toward the center, was found to cause void formation within the FRP composite cross‐section. The presented heat‐transfer and non‐isothermal flow models effectively predict polymerization‐induced overheating in acrylate‐based composites, allowing for optimal adjustment of processing parameters through DOI and DP control, thus yielding pultruded FRP profiles with mechanical and structural characteristics comparable to commercially produced thermoset composites.