Thermoplastic tape friction tester completed at TPRC

The ThermoPlastic composites Research Center (TPRC, Enschede, Netherlands) has recently highlighted the completion and delivery of a novel friction tester for thermoplastic matrix composite tape in melt to Toray Advanced Composites (Nijverdal, The Netherlands). The completed setup provides a better understanding of the friction behavior of thermoplastic composites in melt, to avoid the occurrence of defects during hot press forming of the material.

The development of the friction tester was achieved by TPRC doctoral student Rens Pierik and University of Twente researcher Sam Benou as part of the press forming without defects (PERFECT) project. The test setup measures the resistance against sliding of adjacent plies to simulate what happens during press forming of thermoplastic composites.

Earlier research, as part of the PERFECT project, revealed insights into the ply-ply friction of UD C/PAEK tapes, to be used as a basis for future constitutive modeling. More about this work can be viewed here.

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) supports this research project.

For related content, also read:

• TPRC research project investigates thermoplastic composite structure repair strategies
• TPRC research studies void removal mechanisms in VBO processing