(181d) Thermoplastic Pre-Processing for Rapid Carbon-Carbon Composite Fabrication
AIChE Annual Meeting
2024
2024 AIChE Annual Meeting
Materials Engineering and Sciences Division
Poster Session: Materials Engineering & Sciences (08F - Composite Materials)
Monday, October 28, 2024 - 3:30pm to 5:00pm
Carbon fiber reinforced carbon-based composites (CCCs) have found widespread use in a
variety of industries, particularly with automotives and aerospace applications. Typical matrix
materials include thermosetting resins, which are constrained to simple geometries, suffer from
long processing times based on the thermal curing schedule of the resin, and are incapable of
post-processing after curing. However, thermoplastic materials allow for more rapid processing
and larger, more complex geometries to be produced via thermoplastic welding. In this study,
poly-etherketoneketone (PEKK) is studied as a matrix partner to PAN-based carbon fibers in
CCCs. PEKK is a high-performance polymer known for its desirable mechanical properties and
ability to either crystallize or crosslink depending on processing conditions. The crystallinity of
PEKK can be varied alongside the thermal stability of the crystalline structure by annealing the
composite at varying temperatures during processing. However, typical slow thermal schedules
during carbonization of these composites remove any crystalline order formed during annealing.
In this study, induction was used to rapidly heat the carbon fibers within the composite,
achieving a steady-state temperature of 1350 K on the composite surface and effectively
bypassing the thermal window between melting and pyrolysis. Such rapid heating of the PEKK
matrix allows for the crystal structure within to be maintained, leading to higher carbon order
within the composite. After this heating, the composites were also subjected to a slower heating
schedule, 10 K/min to 1900 K. Annealed composites that were carbonized via induction before
this heating schedule showed improved graphitic order when compared to composites with no
prior processing.
variety of industries, particularly with automotives and aerospace applications. Typical matrix
materials include thermosetting resins, which are constrained to simple geometries, suffer from
long processing times based on the thermal curing schedule of the resin, and are incapable of
post-processing after curing. However, thermoplastic materials allow for more rapid processing
and larger, more complex geometries to be produced via thermoplastic welding. In this study,
poly-etherketoneketone (PEKK) is studied as a matrix partner to PAN-based carbon fibers in
CCCs. PEKK is a high-performance polymer known for its desirable mechanical properties and
ability to either crystallize or crosslink depending on processing conditions. The crystallinity of
PEKK can be varied alongside the thermal stability of the crystalline structure by annealing the
composite at varying temperatures during processing. However, typical slow thermal schedules
during carbonization of these composites remove any crystalline order formed during annealing.
In this study, induction was used to rapidly heat the carbon fibers within the composite,
achieving a steady-state temperature of 1350 K on the composite surface and effectively
bypassing the thermal window between melting and pyrolysis. Such rapid heating of the PEKK
matrix allows for the crystal structure within to be maintained, leading to higher carbon order
within the composite. After this heating, the composites were also subjected to a slower heating
schedule, 10 K/min to 1900 K. Annealed composites that were carbonized via induction before
this heating schedule showed improved graphitic order when compared to composites with no
prior processing.