A Crystallization Kinetic Model for Long Fiber-Based Composite with Thermoplastic Semicrystalline Polymer Matrix

A numerical model is presented to simulate the crystallization kinetics in fiber-based composite with thermoplastic semicrystalline matrix. The proposed model, based on Schneider's formalism, considers the specificity of crystalline entities growing in confined medium such as fibrous composite. Indeed, transcrystallization has been experimentally observed many times and its effects on both kinetics and mechanical properties have been largely demonstrated. As an application, this paper aims at illustrating this former effect with a finite element (FE) simulation of the cooling down of a plate. The simulated materials are polypropylene alone and a fiber-based composite with a polypropylene matrix. Information on the temperature, the rate of transformation and the microstructure are obtained from both materials and compared to emphasize the contribution of transcrystallization.