An explicit finite element solution for the forming prediction of continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic sheets

The pressure forming, or thermoforming, of preconsolidated continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic sheets offers a promising fabrication option for structural composite components. Modern thermoplastic polymers have improved mechanical and physical properties compared with their thermoset counterparts and, perhaps most important for industry, offer the possibility for rapid part production. As in tradational metal stamping, the current process and part design for thermoforming rely heavily on ‘trial and error’ practices which are costly, inefficient and provide little scope for optimization and understanding of the forming process. For efficient thermoforming information regarding temperature and pressure distribution, part thickness distribution, fibre orientations and potential regions of material defects must be determined. This paper presents some first results of an explicit finite element solution to simulate the forming process. At present a constant temperature process is assumed, however work is presently underway to include this effect.