Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100060

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Composites Part C: Open Access

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jcomc

Hybrid thermoset-thermoplastic structures: An experimental investigation

on the interface strength of continuous fiber-reinforced epoxy and
short-fiber reinforced polyamide 6
Philipp Bauer a,∗, Yves N. Becker b, Nicole Motsch-Eichmann b, Konstantin Mehl b, Ingolf Müller a,
Joachim Hausmann b
a
Institute for Smart Bicycle Technology (ISBT), Pforzheim University, Tiefenbronner Str. 65, 75175 Pforzheim, Germany
b
Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, Erwin-Schrödinger-Straße 58, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Keywords: A combination of thermoset and thermoplastic material within one part has rarely been realized. However, with
Hybrid the combination of thermoset and thermoplastic fiber reinforced composites it is possible to produce highly
TowPreg loadable, cost-effective and fully automatically produced structural components. The aim is to combine filament
Filament winding
winding structures made of continuous unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced epoxy material (CF-EP) with short
Surface treatment
glass fiber reinforced polyamide (PA6GF30) injection molding material. The CF-EP components are used to sig-
Injection molding
nificantly improve the structural mechanical properties of the hybrid structure. The injection molded structures
take on additional functions, such as the creation of plane areas for the outer contour or the increase of shear
strength and the resistance against buckling. To avoid subsequent joining, different pretreated endless CF-EP
structures were overmolded with PA6GF30. A proper load transfer and a significantly resistant interface between
the thermoset and thermoplastic material could be created, beneficially by using low-pressure plasma.

Introduction dimensional TowPreg winding process (TowPreg material describes a

Polymeric and discontinuous fiber reinforced composite mass prod-
ucts can be fabricated economically and efficiently by the injection
molding technology [1–4]. Short cycle times and high production rates
can be realized with this technique. Injection molded parts show the
advantage that function integration can be realized with little efforts.
However, if fibers are used for the reinforcement of the matrix, injec-
tion molded parts will be characterized by different fiber distributions
and orientations inside the part, depending on the thickness of the part
and the flow direction of the material [5,6]. Whereas the highest stiff-
ness and strength values of the material are achieved parallel to fiber
orientation, the lowest values are present in transverse direction. As a
consequence, mechanical properties of injection molded discontinuous
fiber reinforced parts are typically inferior compared to their continuous
fiber reinforced counterparts [5]. Continuous fiber reinforced thermoset
components show excellent specific mechanical properties. However,
the freedom in geometrical product design is restricted.
High loadable, ultra-lightweight, continuous fiber-reinforced plastic
components can be produced by using the automated robot-based three-
continuous fiber roving pre-impregnated with a thermoset matrix, typ-
ically epoxy) [7,8]. In this process, a special winding-head is mounted
on an industrial robot. This winding-head carries the TowPreg material,
a special tension system to control the fiber tension of the TowPreg ma-
terial and a specifically designed outlet device. The tool or core for the
creation of the composite part is mounted on an external axis. The robot
then winds the fibers on the external tool or core (cf. Fig. 1).
The thermoset structures created by this process are typically two-
or three-dimensional, truss-like and load-path optimized components,
as seen in Fig. 2 [9,10]. The main disadvantage of this production pro-
cess, apart from the non-optimal surface quality, is the problem that it is
typically not possible to produce two-dimensional panels with a (partly)
closed surface in a fiber-compatible manner. However, such components
can be produced by overmolding the thermoset structures with thermo-
plastic material [11]. The already cured thermoset TowPreg material
forms the load-bearing two- or three-dimensional basic structure and the
thermoplastic injection molding material takes on additional functions.
The additional functions can be the contouring of closed high-quality
surfaces or areas for aerodynamical use, the increase of shear strength

∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: philipp.bauer@hs-pforzheim.de (P. Bauer), yves.becker@ivw.uni-kl.de (Y.N. Becker), nicole.motsch@ivw.uni-kl.de (N. Motsch-Eichmann),
konstantin.mehl@ivw.uni-kl.de (K. Mehl), ingolf.mueller@hs-pforzheim.de (I. Müller), joachim.hausmann@ivw.uni-kl.de (J. Hausmann).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomc.2020.100060
Received 28 July 2020; Received in revised form 14 October 2020; Accepted 26 October 2020
2666-6820/© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
P. Bauer, Y.N. Becker, N. Motsch-Eichmann et al.
Fig. 1. TowPreg filament winding robot.
Fig. 2. Example for a CF-EP truss-like structure.
or the increase of the resistance against buckling of the load-bearing
structures. Typically, these structures are mainly resistant to tension
and compression loads. Additionally, load introduction elements or ad-
ditional fastening elements, such as clips or hooks, can be embodied.
For this purpose, an interface with sufficient strength and toughness is
required between the two composite material systems.
The combination of a continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic sup-
port structure (organic sheet) with thermoplastic injection molding ma-
terial would facilitate the production of a sufficiently strong interface
due to the same polymer matrix systems [12]. However, there are other
problems. For example, the structural mechanical properties of contin-
uous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic tapes with similar or lower prices
– PA (Polyamide), PC (Polycarbonate), etc. – are significantly lower
to those of an epoxy matrix system, such as TowPregs [13–15]. Fur-
thermore, the stiffness properties of the thermoplastic support struc-
ture decrease with increasing temperatures which can lead to defor-
mation of the structure during the injection molding process. Also, the
operating temperature is lower compared to a thermoset matrix mate-
rial. These main disadvantages can only be eliminated by using high
performance thermoplastic polymers, such as PEEK (Polyether-ether-
ketone), PEI (Polyetherimide) or PPS (Polyphenylene-sulfide). However,
the prices for these polymers are significantly higher than for a ther-
moset epoxy system [16].
There are various potential applications for this hybrid thermoset-
thermoplastic technology. In the automobile sector for example, a fron-
tend can be realized by this new material combination [17,18]. Cur-
Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100060
Fig. 3. Sheet design vs. new design.
rently, steel or aluminum sheets were formed and overmolded with
polyamide for this crash relevant and highly loadable structural compo-
nent. The polyamide was applied to realize additional functions, such
as stiffening the sheets or attaching additional fastening points for sec-
ondary components or load introduction points. These frontends could
also be manufactured by using the process described above for hybrid
thermoset-thermoplastic parts. Thus, the discussed process can also lead
to a significant mass reduction while ensuring sufficient structural me-
chanical properties of the part. However, the practical application needs
to be proven in further studies. In this work, the load bearing metal
sheets will be replaced by spatial, three-dimensional truss-like CF-EP
structures. These high loadable structures can then be overmolded to
fulfill the required additional functions.
Another example for the combination of thermoset and thermoplas-
tic material is shown in the “OPTO-Light” project [19]. Despite the well-
known process of overmolding organic sheets [20,21], a thermoset sheet
made from pre-impregnated carbon fibers (PrePreg) was overmolded
with thermoplastic material. This design is called “sheet design” in the
following. The focus in that work was based on the development of
an automatic production cell and the usage of optical processes for the
quality control and laser-treatment [22]. The main difference to the re-
search focused in this study is illustrated in Fig. 3. In the well-known
“sheet design”, the plane surface is designed to carry loads. Therefore,
it has continuous fiber reinforcements in different global orientations
(e. g. 0/90°). This means that there are areas within the component
P. Bauer, Y.N. Becker, N. Motsch-Eichmann et al.
with expensive fibers which were not needed as these areas do not
carry any loads. These plane surfaces or areas will then be stiffened
with injection molding material. This strategy was applied in the re-
search mentioned above and in the majority of organic sheet applica-
tions.
In contrast, the concept shown in this paper, the “new design”, aims
at using a load path optimized truss structure for the load transfer and
the plane area for additional functions. So, the more expensive contin-
uous fibers are only located in the truss-like sections, where they are
actually needed. The plane area is then made from thermoplastic injec-
tion molding material (with short fiber reinforcement). This “new de-
sign” will be lighter and apparently at lower cost than the sheet design.
Additional research will be conducted, to prove this hypothesis.
Karakaya et al. [23,24] also overmolded thermoset CF-EP with ther-
moplastic PA6 (Polyamide-6) in their studies. In the first work, they in-
vestigated the injection molding process parameter and the influence of
surface roughening with peel ply [23]. In the second work, they focused
on the use of further components (hot melt adhesives) as an intermedi-
ate layer between the thermoset and the thermoplastic material [24]. In
contrast to their researches, the investigations in this paper are focused
on influencing the properties of the CF-EP surface in different ways, not
only roughening the surface. Furthermore, only the properties of the
base material (CF-EP) should be changed and no new material should
be added so that the process can be kept simple and efficient.
Due to the disadvantages of the known processes shown above, this
study focused on the combination of continuous fiber reinforced ther-
moset TowPreg with thermoplastic injection molding material without
using an intermediate layer. The major aim of this paper is to establish a
framework for a sufficiently strong interface between the thermoset and
the thermoplastic injection molding material by different pretreatments
of the cured CF-EP inserts.
There is a broad spectrum of pretreatments known in material sci-
ence. In this first study, some general pretreatments were selected to
demonstrate the basic feasibility and to get used to the scale of effects,
a certain pretreatment can have. For a mechanical pretreatment, rough-
ening with sandpaper was selected. For a thermal pretreatment, the in-
serts were preheated. As a representative for chemical pretreatments, a
primer was selected. The last method was an electro-chemical pretreat-
ment with plasma.
Methods
As mentioned above, the aim of this study was the investigation of
the interface between the injection molding material PA6GF30 and the
continuous fiber reinforced CF-EP insert made from TowPreg. For this
purpose, a pull-out test in accordance with Henning et al. [25] was se-
lected, which however was adapted by a special bottom bracket for load
introduction. For the production of the hybrid-samples, several CF-EP in-
serts were pretreated differently and then overmolded with PA6GF30.
With the help of PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) inlays in the mold, dis-
tinct sections with no thermoplastic material were created. After this
process, the hybrid samples were carefully cut. The CF-EP inserts were
manufactured at the Pforzheim University and overmolded at the Institut
für Verbundwerkstoffe (IVW) GmbH in Kaiserslautern. Before overmold-
ing, the inserts were degreased and pretreated with different methods
[26] which will be described in the following. The hybrid samples were
then placed in the test fixture and clamped in the upper part. The pull-
out test was then performed with a universal tensile testing machine.
The maximum force required to pull the CF-EP insert out of the thermo-
plastic PA6GF30 injection molding material was used as the criterion
for evaluating the interface strength.
Insert production and pretreatment
For the production of the hybrid samples, the CF-EP inserts were
produced in the first step. The inserts are named from A to G while
Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100060
Fig. 4. Tool for manufacturing the CF-EP inserts.
Table 1
Overview of the CF-EP insert pretreatments.
Insert Pretreatment
A acetone
B acetone + 280 abrasive paper + acetone
C acetone + 1200 abrasive paper + acetone + primer
D acetone + 280 abrasive paper + acetone + 100 °C
E acetone + 1200 abrasive paper + isopropanol + 5 min plasma
F acetone + 1200 abrasive paper + acetone
G isopropanol + 30 min plasma
the corresponding hybrid-samples are named from VA to VG. For the
insert production, ten layers of TowPreg (TCR UF3325 - T700 12K) were
used. The material was wound manually around a special tool (cf. Fig. 4)
to simulate the three-dimensional automated filament winding process
described above. For this research, it was not reasonable to use a robot
due to the simple insert geometry.
During this manual process, it was intended to keep the fiber tension
at a constant level to simulate the automated winding process in which
a special fiber tension system will be used. Before curing the material
under vacuum and 150 °C for 90 min, the wound CF-EP loops were cut at
the end, so that there were ten inserts created in one step. The tool was
pretreated with a release agent (SemipermTM Monofilm). The finalized
inserts had a dimension of about 75 × 5.1 × 1.3 mm3 (length L x width
W x height H). The thickness of the inserts was in the range of 1.30 and
1.41 mm.
The inserts were pretreated in different ways to characterize the in-
fluence of various surface treatments on the interface strength. All in-
serts were cleaned with acetone after curing. The inserts E and G were
also cleaned with isopropanol immediately before the plasma process
was applied. As the reference pretreatment, the inserts A were only
cleaned with acetone. Table 1 shows an outline of the different CF-EP
inserts and their pretreatments.
Roughening
The surface of the inserts could be divided into three types. Spec-
imens A and G had a smooth tool surface, which however showed
significant deviations in the average roughness value. The scratches
were caused by the production process of the tool. A value of
Ra = 0.6 ± 0.3 μm was measured for these inserts. Due to these high
deviations, the inserts of type C, E and F were evenly smoothed with
1200 abrasive paper (Ra = 0.8 ± 0.1 μm). Specimens B and D were
roughened with 280 abrasive paper (Ra = 1.6 ± 0.2 μm). During this
P. Bauer, Y.N. Becker, N. Motsch-Eichmann et al.
Fig. 5. PTFE inlay (left) and Hybrid-plate (right).
process, no fibers were exposed. All inserts that were pretreated with
abrasive paper were cleaned before and after the grinding process.
Primer
Inserts C were pretreated with a universal epoxy primer (3 M 4298)
after smoothening. The primer was attached to the samples approxi-
mately 1–2 h before the molding process. This primer was intended to
improve the interface strength between the PA6GF30 and the CF-EP ma-
terial.
Pre-heating
Inserts D were preheated in an oven at 110 °C for 1–2 h before inser-
tion, so that the inserts had a temperature of about 100 °C when they
were inserted into the mold. The 10 °C difference derives from the tran-
sition time when the inserts were taken out of the oven and put into the
plate mold.
Plasma
The inserts E and F were pretreated in a low-pressure oxygen plasma
for 5 and 30 min, respectively. In this process, oxygen gas was charged
under vacuum through the supply of energy. The resulting oxygen
plasma was highly reactive. By the presence of vacuum and the charged
oxygen plasma in the process chamber, impurities will react with the
plasma and get evacuated [27]. Depending on the duration of the ap-
plication, the surface was cleaned, activated (5 min) and additionally
etched (30 min) [28].
The plasma machine for the specimens E operated at a power of
200 W, a vacuum of 0.3 mbar and an O2 gas flow rate of 5 sccm. The
specimens F were pretreated in another machine with a power of 500 W,
0.3 mbar of vacuum and O2 gas flow rate of 52 sccm. The plasma pre-
treated inserts were treated 24 h before the molding process.
Hybrid samples
Polyamide 6 with 30% short glass fiber (Celanese Nylfor B2GF30)
was selected as the thermoplastic material. The main reason for the us-
age of this material is the wide dissemination from PA6 as a structural
material with reasonable costs. A sufficient interface strength between
Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100060
Table 2
Injection molding parameters.
Parameter Value Unit
tool temperature 80 °C
nozzle heater 2 80 °C
injection pressure 500 bar
injection speed 10 mm/s
holding pressure 450 bar
holding pressure time 10 s
the PA6GF30 and the CF-EP material is expected [29]. The plate mold
for the injection molding system measured 80 × 80 × 4 mm (L x W x H).
This results in an overlap of the inserts to the thermoplastic material
of 22.5 mm on each side. The main injection molding parameters are
shown in Table 2.
Two PTFE inlays (cf. Fig. 5) with a width of 30 mm were placed
in the center of the mold so that no injection molding material got in
contact with the middle section of the hybrid samples. Fig. 5 also shows
the area with no PA6GF30 of the hybrid sample. Five CF-EP inserts were
placed in the injection molding machine per injection.
After cooling to room temperature, the hybrid samples were cut
out of the plates with an electric multi-tool saw. Careful and slow cut-
ting was important so that significant heat input and mechanical vibra-
tions, which may influence the interface strength between the CF-EP and
PA6GF30, were avoided. For this purpose, each hybrid plate was placed
in a special tool, as shown in Fig. 6. The hybrid plates were positioned
in the base tool and were fixed. With the help of the cutting template,
every single hybrid sample was cut out of the hybrid plate.
After cutting-out, each hybrid sample was deburred. The dimensions
of the final hybrid samples are shown in Fig. 7.
Test execution
For the pull-out test, a universal testing machine (TesT 112.20) was
used with a pull-out speed of 1 mm/min. The hybrid samples were
placed into an in-house manufactured lower bracket (see Fig. 8). This
fixture ensures that no clamping forces were exerted on the functional
surface by conventional clamping jaws. The upper section of the speci-
men was clamped by mechanical clamping jaws in such a way that no
relative movement took place between the CF-EP insert in the upper
P. Bauer, Y.N. Becker, N. Motsch-Eichmann et al.
Fig. 6. Cutting-out tool.
Fig. 7. Final hybrid sample.
Fig. 8. CAD-model of bottom bracket (left) and test set-up (right).
section and the PA6GF30. While clamping the samples, it must be en-
sured that they do not tilt. The samples had to be aligned to the pull-out
direction.
Results
Fig. 9 shows the results of the theoretical averaged shear-stress as the
arithmetic mean value X̅ and the corresponding standard deviation 𝜎.
The theoretical averaged shear-stress was calculated with the help of the
maximum pull-out force F divided by the two overmolded main-areas
A.
The quantity of successfully tested samples is also shown. Sample VA
is the global reference sample with no special pretreatment and the ref-
Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100060
Fig. 9. Pull-out test results with the corresponding quantity of successful tested
samples.
erence to the samples VB and VG. Sample VB is the reference to sample
VD. Sample VF is then the reference to VC and VE.
Roughening
The comparison of the hybrid samples VA and VB shows that
roughening the inserts with 280 grit abrasive paper results in a 2.8-
times increase in averaged shear-stress from 1.8 ± 0.9 N/mm2 to
5.0 ± 1.0 N/mm2 . However, a uniform smoothing or slight roughen-
ing with 1200 grit abrasive paper (samples VF) had approximately the
same effect with an averaged shear-stress of 5.5. ± 1.5 N/mm2 (increase
by a factor of 3.1).
Primer
Pretreating the CF-EP inserts with a primer (samples VC) did not con-
tribute to a significant improvement in interface strength. The averaged
shear-stress is lowest in this case with 1.2 ± 0.4 N/mm2 and was reduced
by a factor of approximately 4.6 compared to the reference sample VF.
Pre-heating
The effect of a pre-heated insert can be studied by comparing samples
VB and VD. Here, an increase of the averaged shear-stress by a factor of
1.5 to 7.5 ± 2.9 N/mm2 can be observed for the preheated samples.
Plasma
With a pretreatment of five minutes (samples VE) the averaged shear-
stress could be increased by a factor of 2.0 compared with the samples
VF. The averaged shear-stress was 11.0 ± 1.9 N/mm2 . A further im-
provement of the averaged shear-stress could be achieved by the 30 min
plasma pretreatment (samples VG). Here, the averaged shear-stress was
increased by a factor of 7.8 (compared to the samples VA) to an average
value of 14.1 ± 1.7 N/mm2 which was the overall maximum.
Discussion
The interface strength could be significantly increased by roughening
the CF-EP inserts, compared to non-roughened inserts. However, it is
not possible to make an exact statement about the amount of increase
in averaged shear-stress as a function of surface roughness. The reason
for this is the almost identical test results of the two different roughened
inserts.
P. Bauer, Y.N. Becker, N. Motsch-Eichmann et al. Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100060

Fig. 10. Plasma pretreated surface of hybrid sample VG vs. untreated.

The increase in the maximum averaged shear-stress due to the pre-

heating of the inserts can be explained by the following fact. The in-
jection molding material does not cool down immediately, which is the
case when it comes into contact with a cold insert, but still has time to
infiltrate the roughened surface [25]. As a consequence, the contact area
and the interface strength are increased. In addition, a micro-mechanical
Fig. 11. Force-displacement diagram for specimens VA.
interlocking between the insert and the injection molding material can
be established.
The pretreatment of the inserts with a primer did not achieve the de-
sired results. A reason for this is that no special primer was used for the
combination of epoxy and PA6, but a universal primer which is suitable
for various thermoset composites and thermoplastic materials. It is also
possible that the high temperatures during the production process had
a negative influence on the chemical stability of the primer.
The plasma treatment is the most promising pretreatment method-
ology because the highest averaged shear-stress was achieved in this
case. By cleaning, activating and potential etching of the matrix mate-
rial (specimens VE and VG), it was clearly possible to increase the inter-
face strength. As can be seen in Fig. 10, a 30-minute plasma treatment
partially exposed the topmost fiber layer. This allowed the thermoplas-
tic material to attach itself directly to the fibers. It can also be assumed
that the epoxy sizing of the fibers was removed by the plasma process.
However, further investigations are necessary for a final conclusion. The
results of the 5-minute plasma treatment are also promising, although
it is assumed that no etching process has taken place yet.

Graph analysis

Different effects can be shown by analyzing the force-displacement

curves. The first recognizable effect is based on the gradient of the
respective curves. The gradient can be used to characterize the stiff-
ness of the interface. The stiffness of the interface of the VA samples
(cA
̅ = 1389.7 N/mm) differs significantly from the one of the VG samples
(cG̅ = 2658.3 N/mm). This means that the plasma treatment increased
the interface stiffness.
Further conspicuous features can be seen in the curve progression.
There are two different main types of curves in almost all samples. Both
types are shown in Figs. 11 and 12. Type 1 is shown in the samples VA-
1, VA-5 to VA-9 and VG-3. With these samples, a sudden failure of the
interface occurs. The curves of type 2 (samples VA-2 to VA-4, VG-1 and
VG-2) flatten towards the end.
In addition to that, Fig. 12 shows a short drop in force at about
2470 N for sample VG-1, which also happened two times with the sam-
ples VB and VF and three times with the samples VD. On the one hand
this could be due to a transient response, which causes dislocations to
form at the interface surface. On the other hand, this could be a dam-
age to the thermoplastic component due to the contact with the lower
bottom bracket.
Fig. 12. Force–displacement diagram for specimens VG.
It is noticeable that in some tested samples the thermoplastic ma-
terial was sheared off at the edge of the contact surface to the lower
bottom bracket (cf. Fig. 13). This only occurred at high maximum pull-
out forces. However, this kind of damage also occurred at sample VG-
2 and here no such drop in force like in VG-1 is shown in the force-
displacement curve. Further studies have to be conducted to finally ex-
plain the drop in force. In the future, damaging the thermoplastic ma-
terial can be prevented by a wider contact surface of the hybrid sample
in the bottom bracket.
Failure analysis
Different effects can be detected by analyzing the tested samples
VG. On the one hand there is the already mentioned damage of the
thermoplastic component by the lower bottom bracket. On the other
hand, residues of carbon fibers on the thermoplastic material can be de-
P. Bauer, Y.N. Becker, N. Motsch-Eichmann et al.
Fig. 13. Upper left: specimen VG-2; upper right: specimen VG-1; bottom: spec-
imen VG-1 cut-off.
tected in all three samples after the insert has been completely pulled out
(cf. Fig. 13). This indicates a strong interface between the fibers of the
inserts exposed by the etching process and the injection molding mate-
rial. On sample VG-2, a delamination of the CF-EP insert occurred.
Additionally, one VE specimen failed by delamination of the CF-EP
insert. The VE samples show partly the same damage to the thermoplas-
tic material as shown above for sample VG-1. No further anomalies were
found in the samples of the other test series.
Conclusion
By conducting the extensive tests presented in this study, it was pos-
sible to create a significantly loadable interface between fiber reinforced
thermoset and thermoplastic materials. Based on a pretreatment of the
thermoset composite, a sufficient strong interface to the thermoplastic
injection molding material (PA6GF30) has been established. This was
realized by pretreating the continuous carbon fiber reinforced epoxy
component with low-pressure plasma. By cleaning, activating and etch-
ing the surface structure, the averaged shear-stress could be increased
by a factor of 7.8 (from 1.8 N/mm2 to 14.1 N/mm2 ) compared to a
hybrid sample that was only cleaned. Thus, additional functional sur-
faces can be attached when overmolding truss-like, continuous fiber-
reinforced structures made of CF-EP TowPreg with PA6GF30 injection
molding material. Following this study, further tests will be conducted
to characterize the interface behavior between thermoset inserts and
thermoplastic injection molding material. Also, further tests will be car-
ried out to investigate the hypothesis shown in [30], which reveals that a
Composites Part C: Open Access 3 (2020) 100060
suitable topology optimization should also consider the fiber angle. With
the help of this simulations it is possible to compute the location and the
orientation of the TowPreg material in the thermoset-thermoplastic hy-
brid components.
Declaration of Competing Interest
None.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Diener elec-
tronic GmbH + Co. KG in Ebhausen, who supported us with their Plasma
Technology.
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