https://popups.uliege.be/esaform21/index.php?id=1199 Publications of Auteurs Sirko Geller fr 0 https://popups.uliege.be/esaform21/index.php?id=4252 The use of reinforcing bars has been known for more than 150 years in construction sector, in order to compensate the limited tensile strength of concrete. Steel is the most widespread and standardized rebar material. As industry targets a reduction of resource consumption and increased freedom of design, novel materials come into the scope of current research efforts. In this context, carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) have become a promising candidate for rebar materials as they offer excellent corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. Their use enables significant reduction of concrete cover in future buildings and cost-efficient maintenance of bridges. The resin system used for manufacturing of CFRP rebars dictates possible applications. Thermoplastic polymers offer the advantage of formability in a molten state. On the other hand, they provide limited heat and fire resistance, what hinders further industrialization. In contrast, thermosets deliver high mechanical and thermal properties due to their polymeric network structure. This is also the reason for their restricted formability after gelation has occurred. However, it is known that epoxy resins may sustain substantial plastic deformation when being deformed at elevated temperatures and in a partial cure state. In this work, a commercially available resin system is selected and qualified for potential use in thermoset-based CFRP rebars. Based on the resin characterization comprising reaction kinetics as well as tensile and compressive tests at partial cure, general guidelines and limits for secondary forming are derived. The feasibility is demonstrated by bending tests on CFRP stripes with varied fiber orientation. Thu, 01 Apr 2021 17:32:01 +0200 Thu, 01 Apr 2021 17:32:01 +0200 https://popups.uliege.be/esaform21/index.php?id=4252 https://popups.uliege.be/esaform21/index.php?id=3807 The economical production of lightweight structures with tailor-made properties and load-adapted geometry is limited using conventional technologies. Additive manufacturing processes offer a high potential to meet these requirements, where the established solutions are based primarily on thermoplastics matrix systems. From a process-technological point of view, thermoplastics enable simplified processing, but only a limited range of applications for high-performance components. These limitations are due to their comparatively low heat resistance, low melting temperatures and limited adhesion to embedded reinforcing fibers. In contrast, thermosets show high potential for realization of high- performance lightweight structures with adaptable properties. The present work employs a UV-curing thermoset resin for the impregnation of a continuous filament strand for 3D printing. The main challenge is to reconcile the crosslinking reaction of the thermoset and the process velocity during impregnation and cure. The liquid polymer must provide low initial viscosity to impregnate the filaments and a sufficiently high cure rate and dimensional stability after discharge from the print head to ensure sufficient bonding strength to the substrate. To demonstrate feasibility, a prototypic print head with UV-LED activation was designed and implemented. With a robot-guided printing platform, the 3D-deposition of continuous fiber-reinforcements without additional supporting structures can be realized. To derive initial process parameters, reaction and thermos-mechanical properties are determined by rheometer measurements. Impregnation and cure behavior of the glass fiber reinforced resin is investigated. The presented results provide a reliable process window and a straightforward process monitoring method for further enhancement of the conceived 3D printing process. Mon, 29 Mar 2021 14:43:22 +0200 Thu, 08 Apr 2021 20:40:09 +0200 https://popups.uliege.be/esaform21/index.php?id=3807