Fibre Orientation Behaviour of Different Types of Glass Mat Reinforced Thermoplastics (GMT)

Abstract

The mechanical characteristics of GMT strong depend on processing parameters. Processing simulation codes give satisfactory results on mould-filling, but not yet on fibre orientation and mechanical performance. This paper describes a method for quantifying fibre orientation in compression-moulded plates. Needled- and paper type-GMT blanks were moulded between parallel platens, inducing one- and two- dimensional flow fields. The fibre orientation was measured and compared to theories based on Jeffery's equation. Matching results were obtained for paper-type-GMT. Due to the different and complex orientation mechanism of needled-GMT, new mathematical models describing the orientation of this type of GMT need to be developed.

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