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Effects of storage aging on the cure kinetics of T700/BMI prepregs for advanced composites
Author(s) -
Guo ZhanSheng
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
polymer composites
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1548-0569
pISSN - 0272-8397
DOI - 10.1002/pc.20457
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , curing (chemistry) , composite number , glass transition , isothermal process , kinetics , epoxy , differential scanning calorimetry , polymer , thermodynamics , physics , quantum mechanics
The effects of room temperature aging on the cure kinetics of a bismaleimide (BMI) matrix prepreg have been characterized by different time and storage conditions. The study has focused on the stability of BMI matrix carbon fiber prepregs, when exposed to controlled environmental conditions before being used in composite manufacturing. The effects of aging on reactivity, glass transition temperature, and process window have been investigated by differential scanning calorimetrer through dynamic and isothermal tests. A theoretical kinetic model for epoxy matrix prepregs, developed in previous studies, has been applied to the cure of both aged and virgin BMI matrix. The model is able to satisfactorily describe the effect of processing variables such as temperature and degree of cure during the curing of the composite under different conditions (curing temperature and heating rate). The effects of diffusion‐controlled phenomena on the cure kinetics, associated with changes in glass transition temperature as a function of the degree of cure, have been taken into account in the formulation of an n th‐order kinetic model. POLYM. COMPOS., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers