Curing kinetics of epoxies by thermal and alternative radiation in the application of fibre-reinforced composites

• Main Author: Ng, Feng Lin.
• Other Authors: Lu Xuehong
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Materials::Composite materials
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/43990
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Fibre reinforced composite materials have become an alternative to many structural materials such as steels and alloys and some have become the dominant form of structural material. A major challenge faced by the fibre-reinforced composites industry is the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in hardener and solvent and the time taken for thermal curing is considerably long. Radiation curing offers an increased in speed of curing yet eliminates or reduces the VOCs. Additional advantage of radiation curing in fibre-reinforced composites is the absence of gel time since cross-linking in a resin formulated with photo-initiator will only commence upon exposure to UV light. Therefore, the removal of the gel time constraints could lead to improved laminate quality; for example, there is more time for precise fibre placement and orientation, complete fibre wetting and the removal of entrapped air. The aim of this project is to study the feasibility of employing radiation curing in the fabrication of glass fibre reinforced composites using epoxy based matrices. Commercial Bisphenol F epoxy resin (Epolam 5015) used widely in resin transfer molding has been used as the based material. Thermal curing kinetics of Bisphenol F epoxy resin was investigated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).