Structure and impact resistance of short carbon fiber reinforced polyamide 6 composites

Short carbon fiber (CF) reinforced polyamide 6 (PA6) composites were prepared by homogenization of the components in a twin-screw extruder and by injection molding. Fiber content was varied between 0 and 16 vol%, while specimens were injection molded at rates between 2.0 and 22.6 cm/s. Average fiber length and orientation were measured to characterize structure. Average fiber length decreased with increasing fiber content and processing rate. The observed structure is contradictory to those reported in the literature for short glass fiber reinforced composites. Fibers were oriented randomly relative to the mold fill direction in the skin layer, while they were oriented parallel to this direction in the middle of the specimen. The thickness of the skin decreased with increasing injection rate and decreasing fiber content. Although instrumented impact testing indicated brittle failure at all combinations of the variables, the strain energy release rate could not be determined by the usual technique using varying notch depths because of the different properties of the skin and the core. Also, the mechanism of failure seems to be different in the two layers. A minimum appears in the fracture toughness and impact resistance at low fiber contents, indicating that fibers might promote fracture initiation at such compositions. Fiber length changed in a narrow range in the studied composites; thus, properties are determined mainly by orientation. As a consequence, both increased fiber content and injection rate lead to an increase of stiffness and toughness.