Computer simulation of crystallization kinetics and morphology in fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites. III. Thermal nucleation

A computer simulation has been used to predict crystallization kinetics and crystalline morphology in composite materials based on thermally nucleated crystallizable matrices. As demonstrated for athermally nucleated composites, the presence of reinforcing fibers increases the complexity of the system. Fibers are shown to have a dual effect on the spherulitic crystallization process. The influence that fibers have depends on the interplay between the enhancing effects that fibers have on nucleation and the depressing effects that fibers have on spherulitic growth. Fibers that do not provide additional nuclei to the system depress the rate of crystallization relative to an unreinforced polymer, while fibers that add nuclei to the system increase the rate of crystallization. The transcrystalline morphologies that develop in thermally nucleated fiber‐reinforced polymers are controlled primarily by the relative numbers of bulk and fiber nuclei. The extent of transcrystalline regions can be suppressed either by increasing the rate of bulk nucleation, or by decreasing the rate of fiber nucleation. Finally, the qualitative appearance of the morphology in the transcrystalline region was found to be indicative of the mode of fiber nucleation. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.