Mechanical properties of unidirectional continuous fiber tapes reinforced long fiber thermoplastics and their manufacturing

In this paper, long fiber thermoplastic was prepared by in-line compounding process and premixed powder impregnation process, respectively, and then comolded with unidirectional continuous fiber tapes. The endless fiber reinforced long fiber thermoplastic was obtained. The effect of the endless fiber fraction on the properties was studied through varying the thickness of the unidirectional composite. It is discovered that the unidirectional continuous fiber can improve toughness dramatically, without sacrificing the strength and stiffness. Fiber length and fiber length distribution may be the significant factors that influence the mechanical properties, especially toughness which can be toughened by fiber bundles as well. The rule of hybrid mixture is suitable to estimate the impact strength.