EP0062491A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Polymers in matrix reinforcement
Assignee: National Research Development Corp UK
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Filing: 1982-03-31
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2002-03-31
Abstract
Abstract A method of producing a composite material in which a reinforcing material (eg as fibres) is embedded in a matrix material is characterised in that the reinforcement material comprises a polymer material having a draw ratio of at least 12:1 which is plasma treated, prior to incorporation in the matrix, preferably to produce pitting in its surface whereby improved adhesion is obtained between the reinforcement material and the matrix material by mechanical interlocking of the pitted surface of the reinforcement material and the complementary surface of the matrix material. Preferably, the surface pitting is effected by a plasma discharge treatment. Preferably the average pit size is from 0.1 to 4 microns.
Inventors
- 👤 Noe Hugo Ladizesky
- 👤 Ian Macmillan Ward
- 👤 Leslie Nathan Phillips
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 04:31
CPC Classifications
C; C08; C08J; C08J5/00; C08J5/04; C08J5/06; B; B29; B29C; B29C59/00; B29C59/14; B29C70/00; B29C70/04; B29C70/06; B29C70/10; D; D06; D06M; D06M10/00; D06M10/02; D06M10/025; B29K; B29K2223/00; B29K2277/00; B29K2707/00; B29K2707/04; B29K2709/00; B29K2709/08; D06M2101/00; D06M2101/16; D06M2101/18; D06M2200/00; D06M2200/20; D06M2200/50; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/29; Y10T428/2913; Y10T428/2933; Y10T442/00; Y10T442/60; Y10T442/608
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
67 words
A method of producing a composite material in which a reinforcement material is embedded in a matrix material wherein the improvement comprises the reinforcement material comprising a polymer material having a draw ratio of at least 12:1 which is treated, prior to incorporation in the matrix, by exposing its surface to a plasma discharge, whereby improved adhesion is obtained between the reinforcement material and the matrix material.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
67 words
A method of producing a composite material in which a reinforcement material is embedded in a matrix material wherein the improvement comprises the reinforcement material comprising a polymer material having a draw ratio of at least 12:1 which is treated, prior to incorporation in the matrix, by exposing its surface to a plasma discharge, whereby improved adhesion is obtained between the reinforcement material and the matrix material.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
20 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the draw ratio of the polymer material is at least 20:1.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method as claimed in claim 2 and wherein the draw ratio of the polymer material is about 30:1.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the adhesion level of the polymer material to the matrix material is at least 10 6 N/m 2 .
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method as claimed in claim 4, and wherein the adhesion level is greater than 3 x 10 6 N/m 2 .
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
41 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the plasma treatment produces surface pitting on the surface of the reinforcement material giving mechanical interlocking of the pitted surface of the reinforcement material and the complementary surface of the matrix material.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
35 words
A method as claimed in flaim 5 and wherein the surface pitting on the reinforcement material is of a generally uniform nature and the average dimension of each pit is from 0.1 to 4 microns.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
55 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the plasma carrier gas used in the plasma discharge treatment is from 6 to 10 cm 3 per minute, the power level used in the treatment is not greater than about 10 watts and the time of exposure of the treatment from 2 to 30 minutes.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
24 words
A method as claimed in claim 7 and wherein the polymer material is given a chemical etchant treatment prior to the plasma discharge treatment.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
51 words
A method as claimed in claim 9 and wherein the chemical treatment comprises immersing the polymer material in a bath of chromic acid having a concentration of from 1 to 100 mole per cent of K 2 Cr 2 O 7 for from one half of a minute to 10 minutes.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
33 words
A method as claimed in claim 9 and wherein the polymer material is cleaned prior to the plasma discharge treatment, and prior to the chemical etchant treatment, by washing in water or acetone.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method as claimed in claim 11 and wherein a mechanical rubbing treatment is given to the polymer material during cleaning.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
42 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the treatment given to the polymer material prior to incorporation in the matrix material is such as not to reduce the ultimate tensile strength of the polymer below 0.4 x 10 9 N/m2.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
59 words
A method as claimed in claim 13 and wherein the treatment given to the polymer material prior to incorporation in the matrix material is such as not to reduce the ultimate tensile strength of the polymer below a level in the inclusive range 0.5 x 1 0 9 N/m 2 to 0 .7 x 10 9 N/m 2 .
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the polymer material is in the form selected from: film, fibrillated film, monofilament fibres, multifilament yarn, staple fibres and woven fibres.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
27 words
A method as claimed in claim 15 and wherein the polymer material is in the form of fibres which are formed into a hybrid with other fibres.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method as claimed in claim 16 and wherein the hybrid is of woven fibres and the other fibres comprise fibres selected from fibres of glass, carbon or aramid.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
31 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the polymer material is a mono- or co-polyolefin having a Young's modulus in excess of 3 x 10 10 N/m 2 .
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
43 words
A method as claimed in claim 18 and wherein the polymer material is selected from: polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene-propylene block copolymers, and copolymers of ethylene containing at least 95% by weight of ethylene having a density of from 0.85 to 1.0 gms/cm 3 .
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method as claimed in claim 19 and wherein the polymer material has a weight average molecular weight less than 300,000.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
50 words
A method as claimed in claim 20 and wherein the polymer material has a weight average molecular weight less than 200,000 and a number average molecular weight of from 10,000 to 25,000 the ratio of the weight average molecular weight to the number average molecular weight being less than 8.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
50 words
A method as claimed in claim 20 and wherein the polymer material has a weight average molecular weight less than 200,000 and a number average molecular weight of from 5,000 to 10,000 the ratio of the weight average molecular weight to the number average molecular weight being less than 20.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
37 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the matrix material is selected from: thermosetting resin, thermoplastic material with a softening point temperature less than the softening point of the reinforcement polymer material and inorganic cement.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method as claimed in claim 23 and wherein the matrix material is selected from the following: epoxy, phenolic, vinyl ester, polyester, acrylate, cyanoacrylate and polymethyl methacrylate thermosetting resins.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
93 words
A method as claimed in claim 19 and wherein the polymer reinforcement material is selected from polyethylene, polypropylene and capolymers of ethylene comprising at least 95% by weight of ethylene and wherein the polymer has a weight average molecular weight M w greater than 150,000 and a ratio M / M greater than 5, where M is the average number molecular weight, and the polymer reinforcement material sustains a creep strain of less than 3% after 15 hours at 20°C under a stress which produces an initial strain of 10% after 10 seconds.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
42 words
A composite material produced by the method claimed in claim 1 and in which comprises polymeric reinforcement fibres having a draw ratio of at least 12:1 and which have been treated by a plasma discharge surface treatment embedded in a matrix material.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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