Applications of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) at temperatures over 150–200 °C are becoming common in aerospace and automotive applications. Exposure of CFRP to these temperatures can lead to permanent changes in their mechanical properties. In this work, we investigated the effect of thermal ageing in air on the strength of carbon fabric/epoxy composites. To this end, accelerated artificial ageing at different temperatures was performed on carbon fabric/epoxy specimens. The flexural and interlaminar shear strengths of the aged specimens were assessed by three-point bending and short beam shear tests, respectively, and compared to those of unaged samples. For ageing at temperatures below the glass transition temperature of the resin, $T_g$, a moderate reduction of strength was found, with a maximum decrease of 25% for 2160 h at 75% $T_g$. On the other hand, a rapid strength decrease was observed for ageing temperatures above $T_g$. This was attributed to degradation of the epoxy matrix and of the fibre/epoxy interface. In particular, a 30% strength decrease was found for less than 6 h at 145% $T_g$. Therefore, it was concluded that even a short exposure to operating temperatures above $T_g$ could substantially impair the load-carrying capability of CFRP components.

The present review paper would celebrate the 25 years anniversary of the ESAFORM association by summarizing the studies performed by the delegates of the ESAFORM conference series within mini-symposium “Extrusion and Drawing” and of the papers published in the International Journal of Material Forming in the same fields. The 160 analyzed papers have been divided in four main categories corresponding to the paper main chapters (Hot Metal Extrusion, Cold Metal Extrusion, Polymer Extrusion and Drawing) then further divided in sub-chapters in order to group them in more specific research subjects. The aim of this review paper is then to provide to the reader a complete overview of the investigated topics and of the research trends over the years within the ESAFORM associate researchers.

In this paper experimental investigations aimed at measuring the die deformations during aluminum extrusion process is presented and discussed. A two-holes die generating two U-shape profiles with different supporting legs was produced and tested under strictly monitored conditions. The influence of die deformation on the speed, temperature distribution and distortion of the two profiles is reported and analyzed. AA6082 alloy was used as deforming material while H-13 hot-work tool steel was selected as die material. The experiments were repeated at least three times in the same conditions in order to achieve a statistical distribution of the acquired data: such data are then used as a reference for the 2009 edition of the extrusion benchmark.