One of the most used processes to obtain structural thermoplastic parts is the hot compression molding, which is limited to small and medium size parts because of the size of the press used, mainly related to its cost. This has hampered a wide use of thermoplastic composites in structural applications. In order to extend the application of thermoplastic composites, but still using available infrastructure in composite manufacturers, in this work we investigate the processing of carbon fiber reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) in an autoclave, using four consolidation cycles. The processed laminates were characterized by ultrasound inspection, DSC analyses for the crystallinity determination and mechanical tests to evaluate the compression, flexure and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS). The results show that the laminates obtained under the lowest cooling rate exhibited the lowest compressive strength and modulus, because of the higher crystallinity degree (~30%) that turns the matrix more brittle.
Thermoplastic composite; PPS; polyphenylene sulfide; consolidation in autoclave
