Frontal Polymerization in Short-Fiber-Reinforced Thermoset Composites

Frontal polymerization (FP) has recently been introduced as a faster, more energy-efficient manufacturing process for high-performance thermoset composites. This numerical study focuses on the FP-based manufacturing of short-fiber-reinforced polymeric matrix composites. The investigation involves a combination of multiphysics finite element analyses and analytical predictions. The developed model is also applied to a short-fiber composite with spatially varying fiber orientation obtained from a sample produced by vacuum injection method. The results show how the steady-state front velocity and inclination angle depend on the fiber orientation angle and volume fraction. Analytical expressions are derived to capture that dependence and show excellent agreement with the numerical steady-state results. Simulations of FP in short-fiber composites based on experimental distributions of the fiber orientation indicate the feasibility of FP in samples prepared by injection molding.