Isothermal and non-isothermal friction at thermoplastic composite interfaces
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Gao, Chunyi
Blackman, Bamber
Ding, Zerong
Li, Nan
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Interfacial friction plays a critical role in thermoplastic composite forming, and the governing mechanisms depend on the interface type and thermo-mechanical conditions. In this study, interfacial friction in a CF/PA6 system was experimentally characterised under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions using a newly developed pull-through rig with independently controlled normal pressure, temperature, slip-rate and fibre orientation. The investigated interfaces included two ply-ply interfaces, namely woven-woven and UD-woven, and two metal-ply interfaces, namely UD-aluminium and UD-steel. Woven-woven contact was examined as a fully molten interface under isothermal conditions, whereas UD-woven, UD-aluminium and UD-steel contacts were examined under non-isothermal conditions to demonstrate the methodology for characterising diverse interface configurations and thermal states. Under isothermal conditions, woven-woven friction exhibited systematic dependencies on pressure, temperature and slip-rate, consistent with viscous lubrication behaviour. Under non-isothermal conditions, the friction response became interface dependent. For the UD-woven interface, friction depended on the individual pre-contact temperatures of the UD and woven plies, as different temperature pairs with the same average temperature produced different friction levels. In contrast, the UD-aluminium and UD-steel interfaces exhibited limited temperature sensitivity within the tested range. Phenomenological friction models were formulated and calibrated for the four interface types. The calibrated models reproduce the measured parameter trends and provide consistent early-stage and dynamic friction descriptions within a common modelling framework. The study establishes an integrated experimental and modelling framework for interfacial friction characterisation under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions, which can be extended to other thermoplastic composite systems and can provide a basis for simulation-oriented friction modelling.
Date Issued
2027-01-15
Date Acceptance
2026-09-28
Citation
Composites Part B: Engineering, 2027, 329
ISSN
1359-8368
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Journal / Book Title
Composites Part B: Engineering
Volume
329
Copyright Statement
© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
114254
Date Publish Online
2026-09-29