Numerical modeling of the process parameters in the pultrusion of preconsolidated polypropylene/glass tapes

The scientific community is devoting consistent efforts to modify the conventional processes used to manufacture pultrusion of thermoset matrix composites and adapt them to thermoplastics. Several promising variants of this process have been developed, such as reaction injection pultrusion, pultrusion of commingled yarns, and pultrusion of pre-consolidated tapes. This study aims to improve the understanding of the pultrusion of pre-consolidated thermo plastict apes using numerical modeling and simulation of the rheological, chemical, and thermal aspects. The dies of an experimental laboratory-scale pultrusion line used in previous experiments have been reproduced in the numerical environment of a commercial simulation suite. The process is highly sensitive to variations in the process parameters, such as the combination of heating temperature and pulling velocity that defines the heating-cooling cycle. The number of tapes determines the quantity of fibers and matrix included which in turn affects the permeability of the fibrous medium, evaluated using the Gebart permeability model, and influences the thermoplastic flow. The numerical model implemented aims to study heat transfer and thermoplastic flow, considering previous characterizations of polypropylene kinetic and rheological data from scientific literature. The process has been modeled considering three different levels for pulling velocity and heating temperature. A coupled heat-transfer and flow model of the thermoplastic pultrusion has been implemented in the numerical environment of a commercial simulation suite.