Composites: Part A 39 (2008) 15121521

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Composites: Part A
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compositesa

Process simulation, design and manufacturing of a long ber thermoplastic

composite for mass transit application
K. Balaji Thattaiparthasarathy, S. Pillay, H. Ning, U.K. Vaidya *
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 29 October 2007
Received in revised form 24 March 2008
Accepted 26 May 2008

Keywords:
A. Long ber thermoplastics
E. Extrusion compression molding
C. Process modeling
B. Thermoplastic composites

a b s t r a c t
Long ber thermoplastics (LFTs) have witnessed rapid growth in thermoplastics matrix composites,
mainly due to developments in the automotive and transportation sector. In LFTs, pelletized thermoplastic polymer matrix is reinforced with long glass or carbon bers (325 mm) are processed by extrusioncompression molding. The current work focuses on the applied science and manufacturing of E-glass/
polypropylene (E-glass/PP) LFT composite material. Process simulation was conducted to evaluate the
ow of ber lled viscous charge during the compression molding of the LFT composite. Studies on optimum charge size and placement in the tool, press force, temperature of mold, shrinkage and warpage
were also conducted. The ow pattern of the molten charge in the mold and the resulting ber orientation predicted by process simulation are veried experimentally. The studies have been applied for a
mass transit/transportation component namely, a LFT battery box access door for form-t-function to
replace a heavy metal door. Weight reduction of 60% was achieved using 40% weight percent E-glass/
PP LFT over the metal design.
2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Long ber thermoplastics (LFTs) are being used extensively in
automotive and transportation industry due to their superior specic strength and modulus resulting in substantial weight savings,
combined with relative ease of fabrication and handling [1].
Weight reduction in a vehicle increases overall fuel efciency,
thereby reducing the operating costs and signicantly contributing
to environmental and economic benets [2]. Global use of LFTs is
expected to grow from around 40 million lbs in 2001 to 75 million lbs in 2007 [3]. In general, some of the advantages of using
LFT over metals include high impact resistance, superior toughness, improved damping and corrosion resistance in conjunction
with ease of shaping and recyclability [4,5]. The use of a thermoplastic matrix provides the molder the ability to modify and enhance the properties of the resin by blending additives, llers
and re retardants depending on the nature of the application
[6]. Various components have been designed and manufactured
using LFTs for the transportation industry including, dashboard
carriers, front ends, seat shells, battery trays, spare wheel dwells,
etc. [2,7,8]. The typical applications of LFT components in an automobile are shown in Fig. 1 [8].
The mechanical properties of a part made of reinforced thermoplastics are dened by the matrix system, type of bers, ber con* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 205 934 9199; fax: +1 205 934 8485.
E-mail address: uvaidya@uab.edu (U.K. Vaidya).
1359-835X/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.compositesa.2008.05.017

tent and orientation of the reinforcing bers. The orientation and

length of the bers are inuenced by the processing method and
process parameters. LFTs possess starting ber lengths of 3
25 mm in contrast to short ber thermoplastics (SFTs) compounds
that possess 0.5 mm ber length or less [9]. When processed optimally, LFTs possess a ber length of 325 mm [2]. Hence the average ber lengths of LFTs are an order of magnitude greater than the
SFTs. The full strength of the reinforcements is utilized because the
ber length is above the critical ber length for effective load
transfer [10]. The stiffness of the laminate is directly proportional
to the ber concentration up to 40% by weight; and independent
of ber length above 0.5 mm [11]. Hence the use of long bers
has proven to increase the elastic modulus and the tensile strength
of the material as close as to 90% of that obtained when using continuous bers [12].
LFTs are manufactured by pulling continuous ber tows
through a thermoplastic polymer melt in a specialized processing
die. Early manufacturing attempts mimicked wire-coating technology, crosshead extrusion or several pultrusion techniques that did
not wet-out the individual bers within the tow [13]. An alternate
technique (Direct ReInforcement Fabrication Technology, DRIFT)
[14], also referred to as hot-melt impregnation allows complete
impregnation of continuous bers with thermoplastics polymers
at very high production rates, providing a high-quality, low cost
thermoplastic composite. The hot-melt impregnation technology
enables to produce products in various forms such as continuous
rods, tapes, pultruded shapes, or pellets of any length for injection

K. Balaji Thattaiparthasarathy et al. / Composites: Part A 39 (2008) 15121521

1513

Fig. 1. Automobile components made of LFT [8].

and/or compression molding. This manufacturing process can be

used to combine a wide variety of thermoplastic resins and reinforcing bers. Fiber levels as high as 60% by weight are easily
produced.
The starting materials for LFTs are pellets of average length 3
25 mm compared to the plate shaped semi-nished product of
glass mat thermoplastics (GMT). LFT pellets are fed into the hopper
of a plasticator (a single screw, low shear extruder) where they are
metered down a barrel, heated above the melting point and extruded in low shear to form a molten charge. The molten charge
is extruded to a predetermined size, and shape (usually cylindrical)
that is transferred to the compression molding press for the forming operation. Thermal process parameters and the velocity gradient developed during the ow of the material inuence the nal
mechanical property of the molded part. To optimize the processing of LFT, it is necessary to take into account a number of process
variables and effects that are not typically encountered when processing unreinforced plastics. Molding pressures, ber orientations, ber distribution, and ow fronts of the molten charge
within the tool are important parameters which determine the
homogeneity of the molded product and therefore the success of
the produced part. Recently developed software tools based on
the nite element method (FEM) help in the design for manufacturing stage using these materials. By simulating the molding operation in a virtual environment, the effect of process variables on
charge ow, mold lling, ber orientation, shrinkage and warpage
can be determined and observed before the tool is cut, ensuring a
complete control of the process variables and being aware of its
limitations.
Several authors have implemented process models to verify
injection molding of short ber composites [1521]. In the current
work, a nite element (FE) simulation program for ber lled polymer has been used to simulate the ow pattern, ber orientation
and process induced shrinkage/warpage of compression molded
geometries [22]. It is during the lling stage that the ow induced
ber orientation develops, upon which the nal mechanical and
thermo-mechanical properties of the part are highly dependent.
The material properties can be broadly classied into the type of
analysis as shown in Fig. 2.
The rheological behavior of the polymer and/or ber lled resin
under the molding conditions were used to calculate the ow front
over the processing time. The ow front simulation predicts knit
lines and entrapped air, the pressure and temperature distribution
in the cavity and the clamping force. Because shrinkage and warpage
have a decisive inuence on the dimensional stability of the molded
part, pressure volume temperature (PVT) characteristics exhibited
by the material is also an input to the module. The mechanical analysis data specied (Youngs modulus, Poissons ratio, and aspect ratio) was used along with predicted ber orientation distribution to
calculate the nal orthotropic material properties.

The present work considers an LFT composite with plate like

and ribbed features. The LFT composite is investigated in terms
of ow, ber distribution, ber orientation and design validation
studies. The applied science studies have been extended to a
real-world application namely a battery box access door for a mass
transit bus, manufactured from a ribbed LFT 40 wt.% E-glass/PP (Eglass/PP) material.
2. Process modeling of extrusion compression molding of LFTs
The process simulation used in the present work comprises four
modules namely ow, heat transfer, ber orientation, and shrinkage/warpage. A solid model of the LFT composite was generated
using Pro/Engineer Wildre. The solid model was imported into
the process simulation software after generating a three-noded nite element mesh in Hypermesh. The shell element is considered
a 2.5 dimension membrane element with the thickness specied.
For the simulation of compression molding, charge placement is
dened by selecting an area on the nite element mesh, which corresponds to an extruded charge placed on a mold maintained at a
lower temperature than the charge. The ow analysis in compression molding is modeled as non-Newtonian, under non-isothermal
three-dimensional cavities using nite elements. This technique,
commonly called as control volume approach (CVA), requires that
the three-dimensional molding surface be divided into at shell
elements. The cells or control volumes are generated by connecting
the element centroid with element mid-sides. When applying the
mass balance to each cell, the resulting equations are identical to
those arising from a Galerkin method for nite elements.
The inuence of the effect of temperature on the local viscosity
of the material is captured by the CarreauWilliams Landel Ferry
(WLF) model. This model is used to capture the temperature and
deformation rate dependency of the viscosity [23] as given by:

P1 aT
1 aT P2 jc_ jP3

where

c_ corresponds to the shear rate,

aT temperature shift coefcient, accounts for variation of viscosity at various temperature,
P1 is the zero shear viscosity,
P2 is a time constant,
P3 is the exponent index.
Compression molding of LFT involves placing a heated charge in
a cold mold. The material that comes into contact with the mold
walls is rapidly cooled; the local viscosity increases and the material in these regions will no longer ow. The lling stages of the
compression molding process are temperature dependant, the

1514

K. Balaji Thattaiparthasarathy et al. / Composites: Part A 39 (2008) 15121521

Fig. 2. Material properties required for process modeling of LFTs.

calculation of the temperature distribution is an integral step of the

overall simulation. The simplied form of the energy equations
(2)(4) used in the simulation of the heat transfer is as follows:

ume content, aspect ratio and a ber interaction coefcient that

depends on the number of ber touches that occurred during the
ow.

oT
o2 T
k 2
ot
oz

oT
oT
Convection term: qcp vx
vy
ox
oy
ovx
ovy
Diffusion term: sxy
 syz
oz
oz

w f /; x; y; t

Conduction term: qcp

2
3
4

where

q is the density;
cp is the specic heat capacity;
k is the thermal conduction coefcient;
sxz; syz, shear stress is xz and yz plane, respectively;
vx; vy; vz are the velocity component in x, y, and z, respectively.
The simulation of ber orientation during the compression
molding is essential to accurately predict the thermo-mechanical
behavior and the nal mechanical properties of the molded part.
In general, the orientation of a particle, such as ber is described
by two angles namely; in plane orientation and out of plane orientation angle. These angles change in time as the melt ows thorough a die. In general the angular orientations of the bers are
represented only by the in plane orientation angle. FolgerTucker
model [24] is used to capture the ow induced ber orientation.
The model adopts a statistical approximation that is applied to
the entire domain to predict the ber orientation. The state of particle orientation at a point is described by an orientation distribution function, and is dened such that probability of a particle
located at x, y at time t, being oriented between two angles is given
by Eqs. (5) and (6). Assuming the ber density is homogenous
throughout, the continuity equation can be written as shown by
Eqs. (7)(9). The ber distribution model accounts for the ber vol-

P/1 < / < /2

5
/2

w/; x; y; t d/

/1

ow
o
_
 w/
ot
o/
C 1 c_ ow
ovx
ovx
2
/_
 cos / sin /
 sin /
w o/
ox
oy
ov
ov
y
y
cos2 /
sin / cos /
ox
oy

ow
o2 w ow
ovx
ovx
2
C 1 c_ 2 
cos / sin /
 sin /
ot
ox
oy
o / o/

ov
ov
y
y
cos2 /
sin / cos /
ox
oy

o
ovx
ovx
2
cos / sin /
 sin /
w
o/
ox
oy

ovy
ovy
2
cos /
sin / cos /
ox
oy

where

w is the orientation distribution function,

/1; /2 are the orientation angles,

c_ is the magnitude of the strain rate tensor,

C1 is the phenomological coefcient which models the interaction between the bers,
vx; vy; vz are the velocity component in x, y, and z, respectively.
The anisotropic material properties resulting from the ow
induced ber orientation can be determined. Combinations of micro- and macromechanical theory are used to calculate the overall

K. Balaji Thattaiparthasarathy et al. / Composites: Part A 39 (2008) 15121521

stiffness of the laminate. The HalpinTsai [25] micromechanical

theory is used to calculate the anisotropic material property.
3. Process simulation results and validation
3.1. Flow fronts of molten charge
The ow patterns for four different charge locations and congurations are shown in Fig. 3. Types 13 (Fig. 3ac) have two small
charges placed in different conguration, and these show the presence of knit lines when the two molten charges are compressed inside the mold. Hence, a charge parallel to the longer edge (Fig. 3d)
was adopted to mold the LFT composite part.
For the mold to ll completely without any voids or premature
freezing of the melt the approximate charge dimensions were
deemed to be 650 mm in length and 170 mm in diameter and
the force required to ow the molten charge inside the tool was
predicted to be approximately 350 metric tons. The top tool temperate was maintained at 80 C and the bottom tool at 90 C. The
ow front of the charge is seen to progress from the geometric center to the edges of the mold. The ow simulation shows that the
four corners of the mold ll at the very end of the molding process.
A short shot of the LFT charge was used to verify the ow simulation result. A short shot consist of placing a smaller volume dosing
of the mold than required to complete ll the cavity. The part produced using a short shot provides information about the actual
ow fronts developed inside the mold. Fig. 4 depicts the ow pattern comparison of the model which is 85% lled and a short shot
of a charge respectively. In both the above cases the four corners
did not ll and there is resemblance of the ow pattern predicted
by the software.
3.2. Fiber orientation
The ber orientation in each element is represented by a plot of
ber distribution function and ber angle. This plot represents the
ber orientation in an element with respect to the local XY plane of
the element. The average ber orientation distribution for ve elements is illustrated in Fig. 5.

1515

The degree of orientation that occurred as the melt ows

through the cavity is predicted by a ber orientation scale. This
scale is derived for ve layers through half the thickness, from
the top surface to the mid-plane. The 180 angle is divided into
25 sectors. For a randomly oriented layer there will be equal number of bers in each sector or direction. On the other hand, for a
preferential orientation, the bers will tend to align in one direction and so most bers will lie in just a few sectors. The value on
the scale that represents no orientation is derived by dividing 1
by the 25 (total number of sectors), which yields the value 0.04.
The more oriented the bers become the less sectors, hence the ber orientation scale value is greater than 0.04. Simulation results
show areas where the top surface has random orientation compared to a preferential orientation at the center.
X-ray radiographic studies were done to assess the ber orientation of nal molded part as shown in Fig. 6.
The molded part was radiographed using a tungsten target Xray source at 40 kV. The part was placed between the X-ray source
and an image intensier connected to a charge coupled device
(CCD) camera to obtain digital images. The images show a preferential ber orientation in selected areas. Although the images
show preferential orientation of bers, it was difcult to determine
the orientation of bers through the thickness of the molded part.
Hence an alternate method to determine the orientation through
the thickness namely high resolution computerized tomography
(micro-CT) was used [26]. Using X-radiation as a penetrating
probe, the micro-CT affords detailed microstructural information
from almost any material.
To validate the ber orientation predicted results, a representative sample from the molded part was analyzed for through the
thickness by using a Scanco lCT40 Micro-CT apparatus. Cross-sectional images were obtained at various depths to capture the orientation effect through the thickness. The images obtained from
Micro-CT were then analyzed using FiberScan, advanced image
processing software that determines the ber distribution as a
function of ber orientation angle. Fig. 7 compares the ber distribution plot obtained from simulation results with those generated
from micro-CT images. The predicted results are in accordance
with the micro-CT images showing the presence of a random

Fig. 3. Flow patterns for different charge placement and congurations: (a)(c) shows ow patterns of two small charges placed in different orientations, and (d) shows the
ow patterns of one long charge placed horizontally.

1516

K. Balaji Thattaiparthasarathy et al. / Composites: Part A 39 (2008) 15121521

Fig. 4. Flow front comparison of molten charge under compression molding: (a) short shot of charge compressed partially and (b) predicted ow front of charge.

Fig. 5. Fiber orientation distribution plots for adjacent elements.

orientation on the face (skin) of the molded part and a preferential

orientation through the thickness. This is termed as the skincore
effect in the molding of thermoplastic parts.
During the solidication of the compression molded part, the
residual stresses continue to build. The molded part experiences
varying temperatures and stages of solidication. The ow simulation, ber orientation calculation and the inuence of material
properties are then used as input to evaluate the thermo-mechanical response (shrinkage and warpage) of the molded part at the
end of the compression molding process. The effect of temperature
and pressure on thermal expansion is obtained from the pressure
volume temperature (PVT) data for matrix material. The effect of
bers on thermal expansion coefcient is obtained by the combination of the PVT data of the matrix and the micromechanical HalpinTsai model developed for unidirectional orientation. Fig. 8

shows a representative deformation after the part has been demolded and cooled to ambient temperature.
4. Design, and analysis of the LFT battery box door
As explained earlier, a mass transit part was designed and manufactured using 40 wt.% LFT E-glass/PP. A battery box access door
(referred to as battery door) is an external part of the 20 m
(60 ft) articulated mass transit bus (Fig. 9) which functions to protect and house the several batteries needed for the regular operation of the electrical systems of the bus. It is currently comprised of
an all steel sheet metal fascia which is bent to shape and then
welded to a tubular steel frame which provides additional stiffness
to the part. The metallic battery door is approximately
1  0.6  0.003 m and currently weights about 12 kg.

K. Balaji Thattaiparthasarathy et al. / Composites: Part A 39 (2008) 15121521

1517

Fig. 6. Radiograph image of molded part.

A LFT battery door was redesigned using the current metallic

battery box door as the baseline. For the LFT battery door, the goal
was to replace the steel frame by integrating the features offered
by the frame into external face and therefore decreasing weight
and assembly time and cost. In the integrated LFT battery door design the stiffness offered by the steel frame is achieved by the use
of ribs integrated with the face (Fig. 10). The ribs provide extra
dimensional stability to the part by controlling out of plane displacements caused by shrinkage and warpage of the parts as they
are withdrawn from the tool and cooled to ambient temperature.
The material selected for the LFT battery door had to meet various criteria including, but not limited to: (a) equivalent stiffness to
that of 3 mm thick steel face sheet; (b) possess low weight and
cost; (c) resist humidity and salt rich environments including battery acids; (d) possess dimensional stability, (e) ease of processing,

Fig. 8. Deformation predicted by software after the part cools.

and (f) paintable surface. Based on these requirements, long glass

ber reinforced polypropylene, E-glass/PP Celstran PP-GF40-03
(40% ber weight fraction, 25 mm long) produced by Ticona Inc.
was selected. The mechanical properties 40% ber weight fraction
of E-glass/PP LFT (25.4 mm long) are listed and classied in Table 1.
4.1. Finite element analysis of the battery door
Finite element analysis (FEA) of the LFT battery door was conducted using ANSYS. The boundary conditions for the model were

Fig. 7. Fiber orientation for a representative sample obtained from Micro CT: (a) top surface showing a random orientation, (b) mid-plane through half the thickness showing
a preferential orientation, (c) ber distribution graph obtained from modeling showing random orientation on top surface, with a preferential orientation through the
thickness, and (d) representative ber frequency plot obtained from Micro CT images using FiberScan.

1518

K. Balaji Thattaiparthasarathy et al. / Composites: Part A 39 (2008) 15121521

Table 1
Mechanical properties of E-Glass/PP Celstran PP-GF40-03 (40% ber weight fraction)
[28]
Property

Value

Units

Tensile modulus (1 mm/min)

Tensile stress at break (5 mm/min)
Tensile strain at break (5 mm/min)
Flexural modulus (23 C)
Flexural strength (23 C)
Charpy notched impact strength (23 C)
Density

7900
100
2
8000
175
20
1210

MPa
MPa
%
MPa
MPa
kJ/m2
kg/m3

5. Processing and component verication

5.1. Process verication

Fig. 9. Detail of Battery Box Door on the 60 BRT Bus Model.

selected based upon the assembly of the part to the exterior shell
of a bus. Static FEA simulations were conducted for three different
thicknesses (3, 4, and 5 mm) of the door shell using the properties
of the LFT (PP-GF40-03) material. Fig. 11 shows a typical von Mises
stress plot and the maximum deection of the door for a shell
thickness of 5 mm.
The von Mises stress plot illustrates the stress concentration in
the region of loading and the stress prole in the region of the stiffening ribs. The mid-span deection for the 3 mm shell thickness
LFT battery box door was excessive, and hence failed based on failure criteria (FC = 2.4, where a value of FC exceeding 1.0 denotes
failure). A similar scenario was observed with the 4 mm shell
thickness case (FC = 1.7). With the 5 mm thick version, the safety
factor is close to the strength of the steel counterpart, and the
deection (19.2 mm) is not signicant. A summary of the results
from the FEA and the solid model is provided in Table 2. The weight
between the steel frame and the LFT battery door design for 5 mm
thickness shell is compared in Table 3. The percentage weight savings on the nal LFT molded design was calculated to be approximately 60% compared to the steel frame design.

An oil heated/cooled two side matched steel tool was selected

as the prototype/production tool. The tool has two main parts, a
top tool which is a solid steel block that can be heated to the required molding temperature and has the required machining and
surface nish to provide a class-A nish to the fascia (exterior) of
the produced battery door and a bottom tool, which includes all
the machined cavities to generate the ribbed structure on the back
of the door and includes the detail to accommodate the lock housing and door handles. Fig. 12 shows the top and bottom tool
mounted on the press with an extruded charge placed on the bottom tool. The tool was placed in a 400 metric ton press. A comparison of the process variables predicted by process modeling and
actual values are tabulated in Table 4.
5.2. Design verication by mechanical testing
The molded LFT battery door was mechanically tested to verify
the stiffness predicted by the FEA model. The displacement predicted by the FEA model of the battery door was veried experimentally with the same set of boundary conditions. A test frame
was fabricated, and a hydraulic jack was used to apply a load of
5500 N. The boundary conditions applied during testing were designed to replicate those seen by the door once mounted on the
bus and during service. The load was applied from the exterior surface at the geometric center and the corresponding displacement
on the transverse direction was measured using an electronic dial
gauge that was placed in the geometric center on the interior.
Fig. 13 shows the FEA model with the applied boundary conditions

Fig. 10. (a) Single component design of the battery box access door with rib stiffened structure and (b) view of the door from the cosmetic side.

1519

K. Balaji Thattaiparthasarathy et al. / Composites: Part A 39 (2008) 15121521

Fig. 11. (a) Shows the Von Mises stresses (MPa) and (b) shows the displacement (mm) plots of 5 mm thick Battery Box Access Door subjected to 2223 N in the center.

Table 4
Processing parameters for extrusion compression molding of E-Glass/PP

Table 2
FEA for a load of 2223 N (500 lbf) for various shell thickness
Shell thickness
(mm)

Displacement
(mm)

Von Mises
stress (MPa)

Maximum stress
criterion (MPa)

Calculated
mass (kg)

3
4
5

44.70
28.19
19.20

224
156
99

2.40
1.70
1.00

2.10
2.80
3.50

Process parameter

Predicted value

Actual value

Units

Mold closing velocity

Mold temperature (top tool)
Mold temperature (bottom tool)
Maximum press force
Charge length
Charge diameter
Cooling time

25
80
90
3500
650
170
120

25
80
130
3900
650
170
180

mm/s
C
C
kN
mm
mm
S

Table 3
Comparison of weights between steel frame design and LFT design (5 mm thick shell)
Physical property

Steel door

LFT door

Face sheet

Tubular frame

5 mm shell design

Volume (m3)
Density (kg/m3)
Mass (kg)
Total mass (kg)

9.40E04
7.86E+03
7.39
11.96

5.80E04
7.86E+03
4.57

3.14E03
1.21E+03
3.51
3.51

and the experimental set-up used to compare the predicted displacement. Load vs. displacement data obtained from both the
FEA model and experimentally are compared in Fig. 14.
The stiffness of the door as predicted by the FEA is consistent
with the experimental stiffness until a deection of 15 mm (78%
of failure deection). At this point the stiffness response transitions
from a linear to a nonlinear state. The onset of nonlinearity can be
attributed to the local plasticity effects and/or damage initiation.

Fig. 12. Top and Bottom tool clamped on the press with an extruded charge.

The FEA results show a maximum deection at the point of loading

in the mid-span and a stress concentration in the vertical rib in the
surrounding area. The mechanical tests conducted on the battery
door show similar failure like the FEA occurring on the vertical
rib (Fig. 15). FEA predicted stress levels in excess of 155 MPa in
the region which corresponds to the exural strength reported
for the E-glass/PP LFT material.
5.3. Fiber weight fractions and ber length verication
Fiber distribution and orientation in substructures, such as ribs
or bosses, change and there by the expected stiffness of products
cannot be obtained. These substructures also lead to ber matrix
separation in SMC molded parts [27]. Fibermatrix separation
leads to ribs with poor ber content and resin-rich edges in large
parts, weakening the structural integrity of the product. To validate
the ber distribution (ber weight fractions) in the nal molded
part, representative samples from various sections of the door
(Ribs and Skin) were sectioned and subjected to burn-off to separate the ber from the matrix. The results of the burn-off study
are tabulated in Table 5. The results show that there is no signicant ber matrix separation and the overall ber weight fraction
remained to be constant. Unlike SMC the LFT seem to ow through
ribs of narrow width without any ber matrix separation, there by
the retaining the structural integrity.
Fiber lengths were determined by image analysis and optical
microscopy on ber samples removed from the molded part after
high temperature ashing. The ber lengths of 600 individual bers
were measured from the molded part to determine the ber length
distribution. The bers were dispersed in an aluminum pan and a
stereoscope was used to capture several images. Post-processing
of the dispersed bers was done using the software Image Pro-Plus.
Fig. 16 shows the bers separated from the matrix and dispersed
for length analysis. The ber length distribution (Fig. 17) shows
that the majority of the bers are greater in length than the critical
ber length necessary for effective load transfer. The average ber
length for 600 bers was 9.54 mm and approximately 80% of the
bers were greater than the critical ber length of 3 mm.

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K. Balaji Thattaiparthasarathy et al. / Composites: Part A 39 (2008) 15121521

Fig. 13. (a) FEA model with applied boundary conditions and (b) experimental set-up to measure load vs. displacement on the molded LFT battery door.

Table 5
Results of ber weight fraction at various regions of molded battery door

Fig. 14. Load vs. displacement obtained from FEA and experiment.

6. Summary and conclusions

A LFT bus battery door was designed and fabricated using the
extrusioncompression molding process. The LFT design incorporated ribs to the shell to add stiffness and rigidity in a single

Sample ID

Length
(mm)

Width
(mm)

Height
(mm)

Fiber weight
fraction

Rib 1
Rib 2
Rib 3
Rib 4
Rib 5
Skin center 1
Skin center 2
Skin corner 1
Skin corner 2

25.75
26.25
26.30
29.25
27.50
22.50
22.50
22.50
22.50

4.50
4.50
4.50
9.00
9.00
22.50
22.50
22.50
22.50

14.50
14.50
14.50
19.88
19.88
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00

40.15
39.80
41.04
38.28
38.42
39.25
39.93
40.28
39.23

component as opposed to the steel frame which was welded to

the face sheet. The LFT design offered an approximate weight
savings of 60%. The extrusioncompression molding process was
simulated using the Cadpress-Thermoplastics. The ow fronts of
the molten charge inside the tool and the ber orientation in
the nal molded part were veried experimentally. Quantitative
verication was performed to compare the stiffness predicted
by the FEA model and the actual molded part. Fiber distribution
was uniform throughout the molded area and there was no signicant ber matrix separation in narrow ribs. Fiber length analysis show minimum ber degradation favoring effective load
transfer.

Fig. 15. (a) Failure initiation on the ribs during mechanical testing and (b) FEA showing stress concentration (von Mises stress) on the ribs at the same location.

K. Balaji Thattaiparthasarathy et al. / Composites: Part A 39 (2008) 15121521

Fig. 16. Fibers separated from resin and dispersed for ber length analysis.

Fig. 17. Fiber length distribution plot.

Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by
the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of Transportation, Project No. AL-26-7002 and Program Manager Terrell Williams of FTA. Technical help received from Juan Serrano and
George Husman is also gratefully acknowledged.
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