Infusible acrylic thermoplastic resins: Tailoring of chemorheological properties |
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Authors: | Dylan S. Cousins Jackson Howell Yasuhito Suzuki Joseph R. Samaniuk Aaron P. Stebner John R. Dorgan |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois Street Golden, Colorado, 80401;2. Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Naka-ku, Sakai Osaka, 599-8531 Japan;3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois Street Golden, Colorado, 80401;4. Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Michigan State University, 428 South Shaw Lane East Lansing, Michigan, 48824 |
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Abstract: | Infusible liquid resins that polymerize into a thermoplastic are desirable for many applications. Similar to unsaturated and vinylester thermosetting systems, they consist of polymers dissolved in reactive monomer. This work presents a method to decrease cycle time by tuning the molecular weight and concentration of the predissolved polymer in the resin. Variation of these properties allows precise control of the viscosity which in turn controls the time at which peak exotherm is reached, the maximum temperature for a given part thickness, and cure time. Predictive models for the viscosity dependence on molecular weight, polymer concentration, shear rate, and temperature are developed. Two fiberglass panels are fabricated and tested; one with a lower molecular weight (Mw~30 kg mol−1) poly(methyl methacrylate) dissolved in methyl methacrylate and the second with higher molecular weight (Mw~500 kg mol−1) predissolved polymer in the resin. Mechanical properties are indistinguishable but the lower molecular weight panel cures up to three times faster. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 48006. |
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Keywords: | composite(s) curing kinetics infusion rheology thermoplastic |
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