Effect of Tool-Temperature Compensation on the Mechanical Behavior of AFP-Manufactured CF/LM-PAEK Laminates
Dieudonné IRAGUHA, Wiyao AZOTI, Bruno CASTANIE, Philippe OLIVIER
Abstract. This study investigates tool-temperature compensation (TTC) technique, a strategy aimed at optimizing the use of heated tooling during in-situ consolidation of thermoplastics in automated fibre placement (ICT-AFP). Rather than maintaining the tool at a fixed temperature to promote crystallization and reduce residual stresses, in TTC the tool temperature is dynamically increased during deposition to improve through-thickness crystallinity uniformity. Although this strategy has been shown to reduce warpage and void content, its influence on mechanical performance has not yet been established, which constitutes the main objective of this paper. The performance of laminates manufactured via TTC is assessed through interlaminar behaviour, as determined by short-beam shear (SBS) tests, and through correlation with crystallinity, void content, and morphology. Indeed, employing TTC through varying the tool temperature between 150-200⁰C resulted in laminate layers of homogenous crystallinity with 18% crystallinity difference, compared with 41.4% for laminates manufactured using a fixed tool temperature of 150°C. This homogeneous crystallinity was also reflected in the mechanical response, as TTC specimens exhibited 20.72% higher shear modulus than their counterparts manufactured using a fixed tool temperature.
Keywords
Laser-assisted Automated Fibre Placement, Thermoplastic Composites, In-situ Consolidation, Interlaminar Shear Strength, Digital Image Correlation
Published online 2026/11/08, 6 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Dieudonné IRAGUHA, Wiyao AZOTI, Bruno CASTANIE, Philippe OLIVIER, Effect of Tool-Temperature Compensation on the Mechanical Behavior of AFP-Manufactured CF/LM-PAEK Laminates, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 73, pp 1-6, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904459-1
The article was published as article 1 of the book Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
References
[1] ‘Airbus SAS. “Global Market Forecast 2019-2038
[2] B. Castanie et al., ‘Review of monolithic composite laminate and stiffened structures in aeronautic applications’, Compos. Part C Open Access, vol. 17, p. 100585, Jul. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomc.2025.100585
[3] M. Arowolo, W. Azoti, and B. Castanié, ‘Comparative study of the thermomechanical properties of natural fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites: A structural application for quadcopter design’, Mech. Adv. Mater. Struct., vol. 32, no. 7, pp. 1425–1446, Apr. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/15376494.2024.2364067
[4] M. J. Donough, Shafaq, N. A. St John, A. W. Philips, and B. Gangadhara Prusty, ‘Process modelling of In-situ consolidated thermoplastic composite by automated fibre placement – A review’, Compos. Part Appl. Sci. Manuf., vol. 163, p. 107179, Dec. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2022.107179
[5] S. Van Hoa, M. Duc Hoang, and J. Simpson, ‘Manufacturing procedure to make flat thermoplastic composite laminates by automated fibre placement and their mechanical properties’, J. Thermoplast. Compos. Mater., vol. 30, no. 12, pp. 1693–1712, Dec. 2017. https://doi.org/10.1177/0892705716662516
[6] L. Raps, A. R. Chadwick, I. Schiel, and I. Schmidt, ‘CF/LM-PAEK: Characterisation and sensitivity to critical process parameters for automated fibre placement’, Compos. Struct., vol. 284, p. 115087, Mar. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2021.115087
[7] T. Yap et al., ‘In-plane properties of an in-situ consolidated automated fiber placement thermoplastic composite’, Compos. Part Appl. Sci. Manuf., vol. 188, p. 108525, Jan. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2024.108525
[8] I. Mössinger, L. Raps, D. Fricke, J. Freund, M. Löbbecke, and A. R. Chadwick, ‘Characteristics of in-situ automated fiber placement carbon-fiber-reinforced low-melt polyaryl ether ketone laminates part 1: Manufacturing influences’, J. Compos. Mater., vol. 58, no. 15, pp. 1769–1787, Jun. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219983241244882
[9] Y. Wang et al., ‘Through-thickness crystallinity gradient controls warpage reduction in CF/PAEK via in-situ consolidation automated fiber placement’, Compos. Part Appl. Sci. Manuf., vol. 200, p. 109310, Jan. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2025.109310
[10] L. Raps, A. R. Chadwick, I. Mössinger, M. Vinot, T. Behling, and Y. Schaefer, ‘Characteristics of in-situ automated fiber placement carbon-fiber-reinforced low-melt polyaryl ether ketone laminates part 2: Effect of prepreg composition’, J. Compos. Mater., vol. 58, no. 13, pp. 1523–1535, Jun. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219983241240585
