Powder coated roving for making structural composites

Abstract

A powder coated roving material for making structural parts is provided. The powder coated roving includes a bundle of fibers at least substantially coated with a powder coating material. The bundle is formed of a plurality of inner fibers and a plurality of outer fibers surrounding the inner fibers. The size composition maintains the fibers in a bundled orientation during processing and releases the fibers during molding. The size composition includes an epoxy resin emulsion containing at least one surfactant and a solid epoxy resin having an epoxy equivalent weight from about 450 to about 950, at least one epoxy silane coupling agent, at least one non-ionic lubricant, at least one cationic lubricant, and at least one organic acid. In addition, the size composition may have an acetone solubility from about 30% to about 75%. A method of making a composite roving is also provided.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.