• Composites Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.39-43
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• 2020

Recently, fabrication process of thermoplastic polyamide-based composites with recyclability as well as impact, chemical, and abrasion resistance have been widely studied. In particular, thermoplastic reactive resin transfer molding (TRTM) in which monomer with low viscosity is injected and in-situ polymerized inside mold has received a great attention, because thermoplastic melts are hard to impregnate fiber preform due to their very high viscosity. However, it is difficult to optimize the processing conditions because of high reactivity and sensitivity to external environments of the used monomer, ε-caprolactam. In this study, viscosity as an important process parameter in TRTM was measured during in-situ anionic polymerization of ε-caprolactam and the solutions for problems caused by high polymerization rate and sensitivity to moisture and oxygen were suggested. Reliability of the improved measurement technique was verified by comparing the viscosity behavior at various environmental conditions including humidity and atmosphere, and it is expected to be helpful for optimization of TRTM process.