Author(s)

K. Tanaka, T. Hanasaki & T. Katayama

Abstract

Recent environmental pressures on the automotive industries to reduce carbon dioxide emission have led to more production of fuel efficient cars. In order to obtain good gasoline mileage, it is desired to reduce the weight of the car body. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) are attracting attention in the automotive industry for their light-weight attributes. The thermoset plastics like epoxies are mainly used as a matrix of CFRP in the automotive industry. Nonetheless, they cannot be melted or reformed after moulding, making recycling difficult. On the other hand, thermoplastics are recyclable, so they are being expected to be widely applied within the industry. Polyamide 6 (PA6) is expected to be used for the matrix of high performance composites for automobile applications due to its good mechanical properties. Because of the highly hygroscopic properties of PA6, the influence of water absorption on the mechanical properties of Carbon Fiber/Polyamide 6 composites (CF/PA6) have to be taken into account. Recently polyoxamide (PX) resin, which has excellent durability to a water environment, has been developed. In this study, continuous carbon fiber reinforced polyoxamide composites were molded and the influence of water absorption on the mechanical properties of CF/PX composites has been clarified. Keywords: carbon fiber, thermoplastics, polyoxamide (PX), CFRTP, water absorption.

Keywords

Keywords: carbon fiber, thermoplastics, polyoxamide (PX), CFRTP, water absorption.