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| AFW |
|---|
| Areal Fiber Weight of prepregs (unit:g/m2). |
| Aging |
| The process /effect of exposing materials to an environment for an interval of time. |
| Aspect ratio |
| The ratio of length to diameter of a fiber. |
| ASTM |
| American Society for Testing and Materials. A standards development organization that serves as an open forum for the development of international standards. |
| Autoclave molding |
| A molding process in which a prepreg lay-up with tooling sealed with an airtight film is placed into the autoclave and subjected to heat and elevated pressure for curing while removing entrapped air and volatiles. |
| B stage |
| An intermediate stage in the reaction of thermoset resins. Uncured prepregs or premix is usually in this stage. |
| BMC |
| Bulk Molding Compound: An intermediate material for compression or injection molding, thermosetting resin mixed with chopped fibers and / or fillers. |
| C-stage |
| The final step in the curing process for thermoset resins. |
| C/C Composites |
| Carbon / Carbon Composite: Composite of carbon fiber in a carbon matrix. |
| CAI |
| Compression After Impact: A test applied to assess damage tolerance of composites. |
| CFRP |
| Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics: A composite material of carbon fibers and a thermoset resin matrix. |
| CFRTP |
| Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermo-Plastics: A composite material of carbon fibers and a thermoplastic matrix. |
| Chopped fiber |
| Continuous tows that are chopped into short lengths for use in mats, spray up or molding compounds. |
| CMC |
| Ceramic Matrix Composite: A composite made of a ceramic or carbon fiber surrounded by a ceramic matrix, primarily silicon carbide. |
| CME |
| Coefficient of Moisture Expansion: Measures dimensional change of a material when absorbs moisture. Measured in inches per inch per degree. |
| Co-curing |
| A molding process of composites which are concurrently cured and bonded to another prepared surface (e.g.: to form a sandwich panel with surface sheets and a core). |
| Composite materials |
| The combined material made from two or more materials (usually reinforcing fiber and resin matrix). The properties and performances are superior to the individual materials. |
| Compression molding |
| Press Molding; A molding process to form a composite in a closed mold under heat and pressure, using a compound or prepreg. |
| Core |
| A low density material used for sandwiched composite. Examples of core materials are urethane foam, PVC foam and various honeycomb materials. |
| CTE |
| Coefficient of Thermal Expansion: Measures dimensional change of a material when heated or cooled. Measured in inches per inch per degree. |
| Delamination |
| The exfoliation of composite layers from each other. Separation of plies in a laminate due to adhesive failure. It includes the separation of layers of fabric from the core structure. |
| Drapeability |
| The ability of fabric or prepreg to conform to a contoured surface. |
| Elongation |
| The stretching percentage of original length of a sample before it breaks. |
| Fatigue Strength |
| The strength under the maximum cyclic stress before failure of a sample; The residual strength after fatigue. |
| FAW |
| Fiber Areal Weight of a fabric / weaving (unit:g/m2) |
| Fiber placement |
| A process for fabricating composite shapes by lay-upping impregnated fibers onto a complex mandrel or tool. The process can produce bigger complex shapes with a faster put-down operation than filament winding. |
| Filament winding |
| A molding process to form a composite which involves winding a resin-impregnated tow around a rotating mandrel (a pipe/rod or a vessel) and cured under heat. |
| FRM |
| Fiber Reinforced Metal. Also called MMC(Metal Matrix Composites). |
| Hand lay-up |
| The molding process of manual works to build up layers of reinforcing fiber material and resin (usually with hand rollers, brushes and spray equipment. |
| ILSS |
| InterLaminar Shear Strength: The maximum shear stress existing between layers of a laminated material. |
| LOI |
| Limited Oxygen Index: Index of flame retardancy. Oxygen concentration at burning point. |
| Matrix |
| Material in which reinforcing fiber of a composite is embedded. Includes thermosetting and thermoplastic resins, metals and carbon/ceramic compounds. |
| Milled fiber |
| Continuous glass or carbon tows which is hammer-milled into very short fibers, usually several hundreds micron meter or less. |
| MMC |
| Metal Matrix Composite: FRM(Fiber Reinforced Metal) |
| Peel ply |
| A base material on the surface of composites which removed by gliding to improve adhesiveness. |
| Postcure | Curing process by application of heat after the chemical exothermic reaction has subsided to get higher Tg. |
| pot life |
| The time during which the resin /prepreg remains "workable."; Work life. |
| Preform |
| A three dimensional reinforcing fiber material to apply RTM or C/C Composites. |
| Pultrusion |
| A molding process applying resin-impregnated roving and mats in the manufacture of rods, tubes and structural shapes of a uniform cross-section. The rovings, after passing through the resin dip tank, is drawn through a die to form the desired cross-section. |
| Residual stress |
| A tension or compression which exists in the composite without application of an external load after molding process. |
| RTM |
| Resin Transfer Molding: A low pressure, closed molding process, using liquid thermoset resins reinforced with various forms of fiber reinforcement. |
| Shelf life |
| The allowable storage time before a product must be used. |
| Sizing |
| To add sizing agents etc. in order to make handling easier in production process and in higher processing steps (weaving process, prepreg process, other molding processes) of Carbon Fiber. Such sizing agent itself is also called "sizing". |
| SMC |
| Sheet Molding Compound: A process to form a composite with sheet layers made of reinforcing fibers and resins (thermo-plastics or thermo-setting) in a hot-press. |
| Specific modulus |
| Modulus divided by weight on unit volume is called Specific Modulus. |
| Specific tensile strength |
| Tensile strength divided by weight on unit volume is called Specific Tensile Strength. CFRP has larger Specific Tensile Strength and Specific Modulus as compared with Steel or GFRP. |
| Surface treatment |
| Surface of Carbon Fiber is oxidized for better adhesion to matrix resins. As the method of such surface treatment, electrochemical oxidation is generally used where we send electric current to Carbon Fiber dipped in electrolyte. |
| Tack |
| Surface stickiness of prepregs. Important property for laminate molding process. |
| TEX |
| Weight of a tow or a strand per 1000 m. (unit: g/1000m) |
| Tg |
| Glass Transition Temperature; Heat-resisting temperature. |
| TOS |
| Thermal Oxidative Stability: A measure of heat resistance. A mass attrition rate of a material at a high temperature for a specified time. |
| Tow prepreg |
| An intermediate material in a form of half-hardened tows made of Carbon Fibers impregnated with thermo-setting resin. |
| Vacuum Bag molding |
| A molding process of laminated layers sealed by an airtight film applying atmospheric force by vacuum. |
| VARTM |
| Vacuum Assisted RTM: An infusion process to form a composite by which vacuum draws resin into reinforcing fiber forms set on a one-sided rigid mold, covered with a vacuum-tight seal. |
| Vf |
| Fiber volume content of a prepreg / composite (%). |
| Volume resistivity |
| A measurement of the resistance to the conduction of electricity provided by a unit cube of a material. (unit: Ω・m). |
