Performance evaluation of glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites prepared via the co-wrapping method

The trend towards lightweighting in new energy vehicles is increasingly focusing on substituting steel with plastics. Achieving cost-effective, highly infiltrated thermoplastic composites is pivotal. This research employs the co-wrapping method to fabricate glass fiber/polypropylene (GF/PP) yarns, and integrates weaving with compression molding for GF/PP composite preparation. Results indicate that optimized co-wrapping parameters and structure effectively minimize glass fiber damage and enhance yarn mechanical properties, particularly with the double-wrapped PP yarn (GF/DPP). Under conditions of 5 MPa, 205 °C, and 10 min, GF/DPP composites achieve the highest tensile fracture strength (1350 N). The co-wrapped GF/DPP yarn not only achieves excellent infiltration, but also significantly reducing the thermoplastic composite preparation time. This advancement could open new avenues for the lightweight structural design and manufacturing of thermoplastic composites.