Thermoplastic matrix‐based composites produced by resin transfer molding: A review
Bernard Miranda Campos, Serge Bourbigot, Gaëlle Fontaine, Fanny Bonnet
Abstract
Abstract The recycling of thermoset‐based composites is challenging. The replacement of thermosetting resins with thermoplastics is an initial step to address this issue, together with the use of green reinforcements. Owing to the recent development of low‐viscosity thermoplastic resins, it is possible to produce thermoplastic matrix composites using the resin transfer molding (RTM) technique, which was originally conceived for the production of thermosetting matrix composites. These resins are based on cyclic esters, methyl methacrylate, and cyclic (butylene terephthalate) oligomers. This review presents the state‐of‐the‐art works reported on the production of thermoplastic matrix composites via a thermoplastic RTM (TP‐RTM) process, from the in situ polymerization of the resins through the optimization of the TP‐RTM parameters for the evaluation of the composite properties.