Instrumented thermoforming of advanced thermoplastic composites. II: Dynamics of double curvature part formation and structure development from PEEK/carbon fiber prepreg tapes

Abstract Poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) carbon fiber prepreg tapes (APC‐2) have been thermoformed into a hemispherical double curvature part under a variety of processing conditions. Conventional matched die molding using aluminum molds (at 200°C) were not successful in thermoforming acceptable parts. Parts with severe wrinkling and folding were obtained. A novel three‐piece (steel) mold with built‐in sheet clamping arrangement was, therefore, designed and fabricated. This mold was used at 400°C temperature to thermoform parts from preheated preconsolidated laminates. More interestingly, using the above conditions, 8‐ and 16‐ply unconsolidated laminates could be directly thermoformed into parts that were microstructurally sound and exhibited good shape conformity. Results suggest a cycle time of 15 min, with scope for further reduction, if mold cooling is employed. Notwithstanding the simplicity of the thermoforming process, such a short cycle time compares quite favorably with cycle times of several hours for conventional thermosetting resin based composites.