Influência da temperatura de pultrusão no processo de produção de perfis de fibra de vidro

Abstract

Pultrusion is a manufacturing process for polymeric composites. Its principle of operation involves the impregnation of glass fibers in an epoxy resin, which passes through a mold with the shape of a cylindrical profile, from a traction device that works at a constant frequency. Several variables can affect the efficiency of the process and the quality of the composite, such as the frequency of the traction device, resin properties, fiber quantity and positioning, and especially the temperature of the pultrusion mold. In this study, we investigated the influence of mold temperature for two configurations, according to the temperature gradient inside the mold. According to the proposed configurations it was possible to evaluate the best thermal and mechanical performance of the produced bars. It was found that to achieve better performance, it is necessary that the temperature inside the mold acts in a decreasing manner in the direction of entry and exit of the profile inside the mold, an indication of faster curing conversion. Furthermore, by applying the OEE, it was possible to estimate an overall efficiency of the equipment of 8%, adding to the improvement in quality of the final product.