Development of carbon fiber fabric reinforced polypropylenes - Part 1 : Effect of content of maleic acid and removal of sizing agent

Abstract

Carbon fiber fabric reinforced polypropylene (CFRPP) was prepared by press molding. The mechanical properties of the CFRPP samples were measured by means of a three-point flexural test. An evaluation was carried out on how press molding conditions, maleic acid content in the PP film, and removal of sizing agent adhered to carbon fiber affected the flexural properties of CFRPP. The flexural strength and flexural modulus increased with increasing press temperature, and the impregnation of melted PP into the carbon filaments improved. However, the arrangement of carbon fiber was disarranged by the flow of melted PP when the press molding temperature was too high. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the optimal press molding temperature along with the press molding pressure. The mechanical properties of CFRPP were improved by increasing the content of maleic acid and removing sizing agent. Through observation of failure mode and apparent volume fraction of void, it was estimated that the improvement of mechanical properties was due to improvement of interfacial adherence between carbon fiber and PP. The maximum flexural strength of CFRPP was 453 MPa and the maximum flexural modulus was 58.2 GPa in this study.