Transparent Fiber-Reinforced Composites Based on a Thermoset Resin Using Liquid Composite Molding (LCM) Techniques

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Science
• Composite Materials

Background:

• Optically transparent glass fiber-reinforced polymers (tGFRPs) offer unique combinations of mechanical and optical properties.
• Traditional composites often sacrifice transparency for strength, limiting applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To produce optically transparent glass fiber-reinforced polymers (tGFRPs) with high mechanical strength and transparency.
• To optimize the number of glass fabric layers for enhanced optical and mechanical performance.

Main Methods:

• Utilized in situ polymerization with liquid composite molding (LCM) techniques.
• Employed resin transfer molding (RTM) for mechanical characterization and lite-RTM (L-RTM) for transmittance measurements.
• Investigated varying numbers of E-glass fabric layers within a thermoset matrix.

Main Results:

• Achieved high mechanical strength and transparency in tGFRPs.
• Maintained up to 75% transmittance with 29 layers of E-glass fabric (50 v.% fiber) using L-RTM.
• RTM specimens with 44 v.% fiber exhibited a tensile strength of 435.2 ± 17.6 MPa and an E-Modulus of 24.3 ± 0.7 GPa.

Conclusions:

• Successfully produced high-performance tGFRPs balancing optical clarity and mechanical robustness.
• Demonstrated the effectiveness of LCM techniques, particularly L-RTM, for achieving excellent infiltration and transparency.
• The developed tGFRPs show promise for applications requiring both structural integrity and light transmission.