| Abstract: | The rheological and thermokinetic aspects of the cure of epoxy based composite laminates are analyzed by means of a computer program developed using the heat transfer and heat generating characteristics of a polymerizable system. In particular, the temperature and degree of cure influence on the resin viscosity have been first considered, then the temperature profiles, calculated according to an appropriate kinetic and heat transfer modeling, have been used to predict the corresponding viscosity profiles. Molecular and thermocalorimetric parameters are used for the prediction of the theoretical chemorheological behavior. Commercial epoxy systems commonly used in the preparation of carbon fiber laminates have been characterized by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic viscosity measurements and the results are compared with the theoretically predicted values. |
