• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.29-38
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• 2022

Recently, the composite material market is gradually growing. Various composite forming processes have been developed in order to reduce the production cost of the composite material. Unlike the conventional forming process, the microwave composite forming process has the advantage of reducing the processing time because the composite material is heated directly or indirectly at the same time. Due to this advantage, in this study, a double cantilever beam test was conducted with specimens manufactured by the microwave composite forming process. The purpose of this study was to compare mode-I energy release rate for specimens manufactured by prepreg compression forming and microwave composite forming processes. First, a microwave oven was proposed to conduct the microwave composite forming process. Double cantilever beam specimens were manufactured. After that, the double cantilever beam test was conducted to obtain the mode-I energy release rate. Mode-I energy release rates of specimens manufactured by the microwave composite forming and prepreg compression forming processes were then compared. As a result, mode-I energy release rates of specimens fabricated by the microwave composite forming process were similar to those fabricated with the prepreg compression forming process with a relatively reduced process time.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.179-187
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• 2020

Existing composite forming processes such as the autoclave, prepreg compression forming (PCF), RTM, etc. require high production costs because of their long processing time. On the other hand, microwave heating process (MHP) can reduce the production costs since both mold and composite material can be heated directly. The aim of this study is to manufacture a mold consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), quartz glass, stainless steel clamps, and polyether ether ketone (PEEK) bolts for fabricating FML based on self-reinforced polypropylene (SRPP) using the MHP. First, the flame test was carried out prior to the MHP to check the temperature on the mold and whether the spark occurred at the mold and the edge of the FML. Second, the uniaxial tensile test was then conducted to obtain the mechanical properties of the FML manufactured by the MHP. The mechanical properties were compared with those of the FML fabricated by the PCF. As a result, the MHP using the PTFE mold can manufacture the FML more rapidly than the PCF, and obtain acceptable mechanical properties.