Cured prepreg thickness calculation

[drodrig]

Hi there,

I would like how much I can press with a mould (metal) a prepreg fabric I have to know its final thicknesses.

It's SIGRATEX PREPREG CE 8093-205-43:

- Prepreg: Fabric plain ( KDL 8093 )
- Resin: Epoxy (E022)
- Fiber type: Warp and welf: M46J Carbon (223 Tex)
- Fiber area weight: 205 g/m²
- Prepreg weight: 360 g/m2
- Resin content: 43% +-3%
- Thickness in laminate:
·0,20 mm (Fibre content 55 vol.-%)
·0,18 mm (Fibre content 60 vol.-%)

If I put two layers (parallel, next to each other) and press with two plates. What is the minimum thicknesses I can get?

Two times 0,20mm? (from the last spec)

thanks

 

[ROLEX2018]

Hello:

If you press enough to squeez out all the resin then your final thickness would be the fiberthicknes only, being that it’s a fabric it would have to be the max thickness where the fill and the warp intersect. Off course this is assuming the fabric is fully compress and cured. I would recommend you run a sample set where you control pressure and resin flow and determine which parameters give you the thickness you are looking for, although you won’t be able to go thinner than fiber thickness

 

[berkshire]

One danger with pressing too hard, is that you squeeze all of the resin out of an area resulting in a dry spot in the finished laminate.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[Compositepro]

Carbon and glass fiber are rather fragile and pressing too hard on fiber, without resin supporting most of the load, will pulverize the fiber. With a plain weave fabric you probably cannot safely go above 65% fiber volume. The areal fiber weight, fiber density, and fiber volume define the thickness.