Efficient composite fabrication using electron-beam rapidly cured polymers engineered for several manufacturing processes

Book · Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1995

OSTI ID:109739

Walton, T C ^[1]; Crivello, J V ^[2]

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1. Aeroplas Corp. International, Nashua, NH (United States)
2. Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY (United States). Dept. of Chemistry

Low cost, efficiently processed ultra high specific strength and stiffness graphite fiber reinforced polymeric composite materials are of great interest to commercial transportation, construction and aerospace industries for use in various components with enhanced degrees of weight reduction, corrosion/erosion resistance and fatigue resistance. 10 MeV Electron Beam cure processing has been found to increase the cure rate by an order of magnitude over thermally cured systems yet provide less molded in stresses and high T{sub g}s. However, a limited range of resins are available which are easily processed with low shrinkage and with performance properties equal or exceeding those of state of the art toughened epoxies and BMI`s. The technology, introduced by an academia-industry partnership sparked by Langley Research Center utilizes a cost effective, rapid curing polymeric composite processing technique which effectively reduces the need for expensive tooling and energy inefficient autoclave processing and can cure the laminate in seconds (compared to hours for thermal curing) in ambient or sub-ambient conditions. The process is based on electron beam (E-Beam) curing of a new series of (65 to 1,000,000 cPs.) specially formulated resins that have been shown to exhibit excellent mechanical and physical properties once cured. Fabrication processes utilizing these specially formulated and newly commercialized resins, (e.g. including Vacuum Assist Resin Transfer molding (VARTM), vacuum bag prepreg layup, pultrusion and filament winding grades) are engineered to cure with low shrinkage, provide excellent mechanical properties, be processed solventless (environmentally friendly) and are inherently non toxic.

• OSTI ID: 109739
• Report Number(s): CONF-950521-; ISBN 1-56676-313-4; TRN: 95:021422
• Resource Relation: Conference: ENERCOMP 95: international conference on composite materials and energy, Montreal (Canada), 8-10 May 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of International conference on composite materials and energy: Proceedings. Enercomp 95; PB: 1080 p.
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCE TECHNOLOGY
COMPOSITE MATERIALS
RADIATION CURING
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
CARBON FIBERS
GLASS
POLYMERS
ELECTRON BEAMS
X RADIATION
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
TIME DEPENDENCE
EFFICIENCY
COST
MOLDING
FILAMENTS
LAYERS
EXTRUSION
YOUNG MODULUS
HARDNESS
FLEXURAL STRENGTH
TENSILE PROPERTIES
SHEAR PROPERTIES
EPOXIDES
VISCOSITY
EXPERIMENTAL DATA