纤维增强热塑性塑料作为结构材料发挥着重要作用，目前在西欧市场的销量为30万吨。然而，高性能终端市场仍以增强热固性塑料为主。先进热塑性复合材料生产的瓶颈包括缺乏工程数据和充分开发的加工方法。已开发出用热塑性树脂预浸渍高性能纤维、聚芳胺纤维、碳纤维、福塔菲尔纤维和TENEX纤维的工艺。讨论了这些过程及其对进一步产品开发的好处。

FIBER REINFORCED THERMOPLASTICS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE AS STRUCTURAL MATERIALS, WITH A CURRENT VOLUME OF 300,000 TON IN THE WESTERN EUROPEAN MARKET. HOWEVER, THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE END OF THE MARKET IS STILL DOMINATED BY REINFORCED THERMOSETS. BOTTLENECKS IN THE PRODUCTION OF THE ADVANCED THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES INCLUDE A LACK OF ENGINEERING DATA, AND FULLY DEVELOPED PROCESSING METHODS. PROCESSES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED FOR PRE-IMPREGNATING HIGH-PERFORMANCE FIBERS, THE POLYARAMID TWARON AND CARBON FIBERS FORTAFIL, AND TENEX WITH THERMOPLASTIC RESINS. THESE PROCESSES AND THE BENEFITS FOR FURTHER PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ARE DISCUSSED.