Process feasibility and kinetic analysis of glass fiber‐reinforced vinyl ester/nano‐Al 2 O 3 matrix composites for pultrusion

This work presents a process developed to manufacture glass fiber‐reinforced vinyl ester (VE)/nano‐Al 2 O 3 matrix composites by pultrusion method. The matrix prepolymer for pultrusion in this study was prepared from blends of VE, initiator ( t ‐butyl perbenzoate), and nano‐Al 2 O 3 . The process feasibility and kinetic analysis of the unidirectional glass fiber‐reinforced VE/nano‐Al 2 O 3 matrix composites by pultrusion have been investigated. From the investigations of the long pot life of VE/nano‐Al 2 O 3 matrix, the high reactivity of VE/nano‐Al 2 O 3 matrix, and excellent fiber wet‐out of VE/nano‐Al 2 O 3 matrix and glass fiber, it was found that the VE/nano‐Al 2 O 3 matrix showed excellent process feasibility for pultrusion. A kinetic autocatalytic model, d α/ dt = A exp(− E /RT)α m (1 − α) n , was proposed to describe the curing behavior of glass fiber‐reinforced VE/nano‐Al 2 O 3 matrix composites. Kinetic parameters for the model were obtained from dynamic differential scanning calorimetry scans using a multiple regression technique. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012