Investigating the crystallization kinetics and morphology development in fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites.

There is a great need for the development of sustainable structural materials which offer lightweighting potential addressing the environmental challenges of decreasing CO2 emissions in the automotive industry. Fibre-reinforced polymer composites (FRPs) are a light and cost-effective materials giving directional strength, stiffness, durability and corrosion resistance. FRP materials are semi-crystalline engineering polymers such as polyamides (PA) combined with long fibres of glass (PA-GF). Here, we will look at the structure and morphology development in FRP materials using combined in-situ thermal and Small and Wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS). These combined techniques will allow us to follow the crystalline structure development of the polymer in the material as it is cooled at temperatures mimicking the processing conditions, giving a unique insight into how the processing affects the polymer morphology and hence the mechanical and physical properties of the composite.