PROCESS FOR PRETREATMENT OF NON-ISOTROPIC CYLINDRICAL PRODUCTS

摘要

Many thermoplastic polymers suffer from time dependent deformation when used at elevated temperatures. The present invention relates to a method of preconditioning a non-isotropic composite cylindrical member (11). The method involves fitting the cylindrical member (11) onto a mandrel having an outside diameter greater than the inside diameter (I.D.) of the cylindrical member (11) and heating the mandrel and cylindrical member (11) to a temperature sufficient to cause thermal deformation of the mandrel and substantially irreversible thermal deformation of the cylindrical member (11). This allows thermoplastic polymers to be used more extensively, for example, as a replacement for more conventional metals.