Laser-induced periodic surface structures on stainless steel moulds for thermoplastic composite materials manufacturing

Description

Abstract: Steel moulds are widely used as forming tools during the fabrication of fibre reinforced thermoplastic composite parts. The aim of this work is to study sub-micron laser-induced surface modifications which help to control interfacial properties, such as undesirable sticking, between the composite polymer and the steel mould material.
Stainless steel (AISI 430) samples were machined with a laser with wavelength of λ = 515 nm and 7 ps pulse duration. The periodicity of the Laser-induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS) was determined, via fast Fourier transform of scanning electron microscope images, as a function of input parameters, such as effective number of laser pulses, pulse energy and accumulated fluence.
Above a certain threshold, LIPSS appear over a broad range of fluences. Spatial frequencies were found to be between about λ/10 and ~λ for laser pulse energies of up to ~1 µJ. First results from experiments on interaction of composite polymers and steel moulds are also shown.

Period	26 Jun 2019
Event title	Lasers in Manufacturing 2019
Event type	Conference
Location	Munich, Germany, BavariaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International