SPRAY LAY-UP PROCESS

PLASTICS PROCESSING POL 3201

Submitted by Dildeep J. P. M.Tech. 1st Year, PSRT, CUSAT

Introduction to Composites
• Definition of a Composite Material
A composite material is defined as a material which is composed of
two or more materials at a microscopic scale and has chemically
distinct phases.
• The materials which form the composite are also called as
constituents or constituent materials.

Fig.1 Types of Composites Image Courtesy: www.compositelab.com

• Composites, also known as Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP)
composites, are made from a polymer matrix that is reinforced with
an engineered, man-made or natural fiber (like glass, carbon or
aramid) or other reinforcing material.
• The matrix protects the fibers from environmental and external
damage and transfers the load between the fibers.
• The fibers, in turn, provide strength and stiffness to reinforce the
matrix—and help it resist cracks and fractures.

Fig.2 Composites Image Courtesy: www.compositelab.com

 Strength

High fatigue
Stiffness
life

Composites
Reduced High corrosion
weight resistance

High chemical
resistance
Toughness
degradation
resistance
Matrix materials used in composites?
Matrix
Materials

Carbon &
Polymers Metals Ceramics
Graphite

Thermosets Aluminium Carbon

Thermoplastics Copper Silcon Carbide

Titanium Silicon Nitride

Thermoplastic Materials Thermosetting Materials
Polypropylene, Polyesters,
Polyvinyl chloride, Epoxies
Nylon, Polyimides
Polyurethane, The key features of these materials are given for
Poly-ether-ether ketone (PEEK), individual material in the following.
Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS),
Polyesters
Polysulpone. 1. Used extensively with glass fibers.
2. Inexpensive.
The key features of the thermoplastic matrix materials 3. Light weight.
are: 4. Temperature range upto 100 .
1. higher toughness 5. Resistant to environmental exposures
2. high volume Epoxy
3. low cost processing 1. Expensive
4. The use temperature range is upto 225°C. 2. Better moisture resistance.
3. Lower shrinkage on curing.
4. Use temperature is about 175°C.
Polyimide
1. Higher use temperature about 300°C.
2. Difficult to fabricate
Composite Fabrication Process
• Wet/Hand Lay-Up
• Spray Lay-Up
• Autoclave Curing
• Filament Winding
• Pultrusion
Spray Lay-Up
Disadvantages of Wet/Hand Lay-Up

x Since the process is worked by hands, there are safety and hazard
considerations.
x The resin needs to be less viscous so that it can be easily worked by hands.
x The quality of the final product is highly skill dependent of the labours.
x Uniform distribution of resin inside the fabric is not possible leading to voids
in the laminate.
x Possibility of diluting the contents.
Spray Lay-Up
• The spray lay-up technique can be said to be an extension of the hand lay-
up method.
• ‘’Spray-Up also known as chop method of creating fiberglass objects by
spraying short strands of glass out of a pneumatic gun.’’
• Spray-up is an open moulding composites fabrication process where resin
and reinforcements are sprayed onto a reusable mould.
• Spray lay-up method is used for lower load carrying parts like small boats,
bath tubs, fairing of trucks etc.
• This method provides high volume fraction of reinforcement in composites
and virtually, there is no part size limitation in this technique.
 • A spray gun is used to spray pressurized resin and
reinforcement which is in the form of chopped
fibers.
• Glass roving is used as a reinforcement which passes
through spray gun where it is chopped with a
chopper gun.
• Matrix material and reinforcement may be sprayed
simultaneously or separately one after one.
• Spray release gel is applied on to the mold surface
to facilitate the easy removal of component from
the mold.
• A roller is rolled over the sprayed material to
remove air trapped into the lay-ups.
• After spraying fiber and resin to required thickness,
curing of the product is done either at room
temperature or at elevated temperature.
• After curing, mold is opened and the developed
composite part is taken out and further processed
further. The time of curing depends on type of
Fig.3 Spray Lay-Up Image Courtesy: AOC Aliancys polymer used for composite processing.
 Fig.4 Spray Lay-Up Image Courtesy: NTPEL Lecture Notes
Materials Used
Matrix Epoxy, polyester, polyvinyl ester, phenolic resin, unsaturated polyester,
polyurethane resin
Reinforcement Glass fiber, carbon fiber, aramid fiber, natural plant fibers (sisal,
banana, nettle, hemp, flax, coir, cotton, jute etc.)
(all these fibers are in the form of chopped short fibers, flakes, particle
fillers etc.)
Advantages
• It is a very economical process for
making small to large parts.
• It utilizes low-cost tooling as well as
low-cost material systems.
• It is suitable for small- to medium
volume parts.
Disadvantages
• Not suitable for making parts that
have high structural requirements.
• Difficult to control the fibre volume
fraction as well as the thickness.
• Highly depend on operator skill.
• The process offers a good surface
finish on one side and a rough surface
finish on the other side.
• The process is not suitable for parts
where dimensional accuracy and
process repeatability are prime
concerns.
Application
References
• Plastic Materials and Processes, Schwartz, S.S, Van Nostrand Reinhold
Company, 1982,Reinforced Plastics/Composites Processing, p. 729.