STTR Phase II: Durable Functional Coloring of Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Structural Composites for High Strength Material Applications

小型企业技术转移研究(STTR)第二阶段项目将展示对由长(3毫米至25毫米长)玻璃纤维增强的热塑性聚合物制成的结构复合材料部件进行着色的能力。今天的选择是黑色或天然树脂色，这限制了他们的设计吸引力。着色剂不用于用于结构应用的热塑性复合材料，因为它们在历史上曾造成关键性能的重大损失。在长玻璃纤维增强热塑性结构材料中成功使用耐用、高性能节能着色剂的这一突破，将为建筑、安全、体育用品、家具、工业、交通和娱乐市场的广泛产品打开选择。该项目将创建用于交通和工业市场的应用原型。通过在结构复合材料部件中融入耐用的颜色，取代传统材料的速度将会加快。与重量较轻的金属相比，热塑性复合材料具有明显的优势，具有同等或更好的性能、耐腐蚀性和设计灵活性，所有这些都大大节省了成本。随着色彩的加入，绘画过程可以省去。结构长玻璃纤维增强热塑性塑料更耐用，随着时间的推移产生的废物更少，因此对环境更有利。

The Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase II project will demonstrate the ability to color structural composite parts made of thermoplastic polymers reinforced with long (3 mm to 25 mm in length) glass fibers. Today the options are black or natural resin color which limits their design appeal. Colorants are not used in thermoplastic composites for structural applications because they historically caused significant loss in key properties. This breakthrough of successfully using durable, high performance energy managing colorants in long glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic structural materials will open options for a wide range of products in construction, safety, sporting goods, furniture, industrial, transportation and recreational markets. Application prototypes for the transportation and industrial markets will be created in this project. By integrating durable color within structural composite parts, the speed of displacing traditional materials will increase. Thermoplastic composite materials provide clear advantages relative to metals of reduced weight in the part with equal or superior properties, corrosion resistance, and design flexibility, all resulting in significant cost savings. Painting processes can be eliminated with the incorporation of color. The structural long glass fiber reinforced thermoplastics are more durable and result in less waste over time and therefore are better for the environment.