Efficient Fast Conditioning

The aim of the present research project is to validate a novel method for rapid conditioning. The new process has already been successfully used for the rapid conditioning of continuous fiber-reinforced CF-PA6. Now it shall be clarified to what extent the process can be used for conditioning any other plastics (with and without
fiber reinforcement).

Hygroscopic materials can change their mechanical properties through the absorption of water from surrounding humid air. A typical group of materials that shows this effect in a particularly pronounced way are polyamides. The high polarity of these plastics favors the diffusion of water into the material and the mechanical properties change significantly. When designing components made of polyamides, the mechanical behavior of the material for different conditioning states (service conditions) must therefore be determined experimentally. The conditioning of the test specimens required for material characterization is usually donewith the aid of a climatic chamber. On the one hand, this process takes a lot of time (usually several weeks to months) and on the other hand, climatic chambers are expensive and maintenance-intensive.