Prepreg is an abbreviation of Preimpregnated Materials. It is a sheet-type product in which a matrix is ​​impregnated with reinforced fiber. The prepreg has very different properties depending on the orientation of the fibers and the weaving method, and the orientation of the fibers plays an important role in determining the mechanical strength of CFRP. Short and randomly oriented reinforcing fibers show isotropy, while long, unidirectional reinforcing fibers exhibit anisotropic behavior and are strongest when the applied load is parallel to the reinforcing fibers. Classification by the direction of the fiber is divided into unidirectional, orthogonal, multiaxial, and the like. Uni-directional refers to a state in which almost all fibers in the fabric are aligned in one direction. When the fibers used as reinforcing materials are aligned in one direction, the fibers are used in a straight line without twisting during the fabric production process, and there is an advantage in that the amount of fibers used as a whole can be minimized. A uni-directional prepreg exhibits different cutting forces depending on the stacking orientation angle. In this experiment, the optimal cutting conditions for a uni-directional prepreg 45 degree orientation angle specimen are presented.

The incorporation of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) between composites plies has been said to enhance the through-thickness strength, and it can also decrease the risk of interply delamination and reduce crack initiation. Thanks to these high mechanical performances, nano-engineered hybrid composites are seen as promising for highly demanding structural reinforcement applications. This paper is part of a study that focuses specifically on the methodology for transferring VACNTs onto a prepreg surface while maintaining their initial vertically aligned morphology. The chosen method involved bonding the VACNTs’ forest through capillary impregnation of the forest by the prepreg’s resin. Key parameters for an effective transfer and to achieve a partial capillary rise of the resin into the VACNTs will be discussed here.

One of the most important problems in the cutting process of CFRP is tool wear. During CFRP machining, high temperature caused by friction between the cutting tool and the carbon fiber structure increase tool edge wear. Since CFRP is manufactured in a form in which the fibrous tissue is combined with a bonding resin, delamination caused by the separation of the resin and carbon fiber during process is recognized as a very big problem. This delamination proceeds very rapidly as the wear of the drill edge increases. Therefore, in this experiment, tool wear was measured during drilling using a TiAlN-coating drill with excellent wear resistance. In this study, tool wear is measured to suggest optimized cutting conditions for each material.

Demand for CFRP with new characteristics is increasing in various industrial fields, from parts materials to daily necessities, and research on this is also being actively conducted. CFRP is a material that realizes properties suitable for multiple functions that cannot be seen in a single material by physically combining two or more materials with different shapes and chemical compositions. When machining CFRP using a high-speed steel (HSS) drill or a TiAlN-coating drill with different rotation speed and feed speed, the cutting force was experimentally analyzed and the optimal tool material and cutting conditions were selected. The cutting force according to the change in rotation speed of the high-speed steel drill and the TiAlN-coating drill is compared.

The wind turbine blades should be designed to possess a high stiffness and should be fabricated with a light and high strength material because they serve under extreme combination of lift and drag forces, converting kinetic energy of wind into shaft work. The goal of this study is to understand the basic knowledge required to curtail the process time consumed during the construction of small wind turbine blades using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) prepeg composites. The configuration of turbine rotor was determined using the QBlade freeware program. The fluid dynamics module simulated the loads exerted by the wind of a specific speed, and the stress analysis module predicted the distributions of equivalent von Mises stress for representing the blade structures. It was suggested to modify the shape of test specimen from ASTM D638 to decrease the variance in measured tensile strengths. Then, a series of experiments were performed to confirm that the bladder compression molded CFRP prepreg can provide sufficient strength to small wind turbine blades and decrease the cure time simultaneously.