Experimental study of the effect of temperature and velocity in channel forming of polyvinyl chloride composite reinforced by 3D-fiberglass with an aluminum middle layer

Abstract In this paper, the stamp forming process of a U-shaped cross-section channel with sharp corners of composite laminates including aluminum sheet and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) reinforced with 3D-fiberglass was investigated. The laminates were produced by manual layup and arrangement of fibers with different angles of [0°/90°] and [± 45°] degrees using hot press. The process of forming composite samples was carried out at temperatures of 25, 80, 120, 160°C and different velocities of punch. The effect of parameters including layup configuration, temperature, and forming speed on the spring-back of the formed laminates and the required forming force were evaluated. The results showed that as the forming temperature increased, the forming force decreased sharply. The lowest forming force was obtained for the laminate with [± 45°, Al, ± 45°] layout at 160°C temperature which was equal to 0.7KN. Also, with the increase in temperature, the spring-back angle has been reduced, the lowest of which is obtained with the laminate with [0°/90°] 3 layout equal to 8 degrees. Finally, it was concluded that increasing the speed of the forming process results in a decrease in the spring-back angle and this effect is more pronounced at higher temperatures. Graphical abstract